Silent Hill Story
by Sarugaki339
Summary: It's just a normal day for Ichigo Kurosaki, until he finds Rukia in his classroom once again. She tells him of a terrible place; called Silent Hill. Join Ichigo and friends as they meet new allies, fight new enemies, and face their greatest challenge yet!
1. Chapter 1: Karakura Town

**Chapter I**

**Karakura High School**

It was a normal day. Nothing out of the ordinary. The sun was shining with a promising glow. It was morning at the Kurosaki clinic. Ichigo Kurosaki was sleeping in bed, peacefully.

A small, lion shaped stuffed animal leapt onto the headboard of Ichigo's bed. With a loud yell, "Get up, you Soul Reaper wannabe!" It stared at Ichigo, waiting for a result. "If you don't get up, then you can't go to school, which means that I won't have this room all to myself, and can't use all your stuff!

A hand snatched over the plush toy's face, crushing it with anger. "What did you say?" Ichigo asked, fiercely. "Get out of the way, Kon, and let me wake up in peace." Ichigo tossed the toy, Kon, to the other side of the room, where he hit the closet. Ichigo threw off the covers on his bed, and began undressing.

Kon stared intensely, and then remarked with a shrug, "It's a wonder how you were able to save Rukia with no muscle!"

Grabbing Kon's face again, Ichigo said, "Don't push me, Kon." He let go, and put on a white, button down t-shirt with khaki pants.

A knock came on Ichigo's bedroom door. Ichigo and Kon quickly stared at the door. A female voice called out, "Ichigo," it was Yuzu, Ichigo's eleven year old sister. "Keigo and Sado are waiting downstairs for you." The knob began to turn.

Hustling Kon into the desk drawer, Ichigo whispered, "Hide, Kon! And don't say a word!"

Ichigo pushed Kon in, who whispered loudly, "Ow! My tail's caught you careless dog-brain!"

The drawer shut as the door opened. Yuzu stared, confused. After a pause she asked, "Like, what are you doing?"

Ichigo was bent over his desk. "I'm doing a project, Yuzu."

"But," Yuzu said. "There's a tail sticking out of your desk." She pointed to Kon's tail.

"That's my project," Ichigo snapped. "What do you want, Yuzu?"

Sighing, Yuzu replied, "I already told you. Keigo and Sado are waiting for you." She put her hands on her hips. Her golden brown hair was in her eyes, signaling that she's been awake for a while now.

"Yuzu," Ichigo began, tying his shoes. "His name is Chad."

"Huh?"

"You called him Sado," Ichigo explained. "His name is Chad."

"Whatever," Yuzu shrugged. "Just get ready. You won't have time to eat at this rate."

A few minutes later, Ichigo was outside the clinic, standing with Keigo and Chad.

Keigo Asano is a brown haired boy with a friendly personality.

Chad is dark skinned, as he is from Mexico. His dark brown hair covers his eyes completely. Chad is also much taller than anyone else in their sophomore class. He's even taller than most of the seniors. His real name is Sado Yastora, but Ichigo calls him Chad, and the name just stuck. His voice is as deep as he is tall.

Ichigo Kurosaki is of average height with naturally orange hair. Ever since he can remember, Ichigo has had the ability to see ghosts. His interactions with his friends allowed most of them to gain those powers as well. Keigo does not have that ability.

"What were you doing up there, Ichigo?" Keigo exclaimed, excitedly. "Aha! I bet you were trying to sneak out on us! I knew it! You don't want to hang out with me anymore!" He began to sob.

"Keigo," Ichigo said, almost sympathetically.

Keigo looked up at Ichigo. "Are you here to console me?" He smiled, tears flowing from his eyes in an extremely dramatic manner.

Ichigo lightly punched Keigo in the face. "Just shut up, already! You're attracting the neighbors!"

Keigo fell to the ground, rolling on the pavement, holding his face.

"Let's go," Chad said, as he started to walk away.

"Wait up, Chad," Keigo said, jogging to catch up. Ichigo walked behind.

After a short walk, they arrived at Karakura High School. They entered the classroom 3-B. It was a leisurely scene, with kids sitting on desks, talking, or writing.

Ichigo went to his desk, and put his bag down, and sat.

"Good morning, Ichigo," said a female voice. Ichigo looked up to see Orihime Inoue. She's a red haired girl who is very friendly, and has large boobs that attract some not-so-friendly attention.

"Oh, it's you," Ichigo replied. "How's it going, Orihime?" Chad was sitting near them.

Whispers in the room said similar things to "Wow, those guys have been spending a lot of time together since summer," or "Why are they always together?"

The rest of the day was normal. Just a regular day. It was now the afternoon and the sun was shining brightly.

Ichigo was sitting in his desk, paying little attention to the lecture that was being given by the teacher, Mrs. Ochi. A sharp, piercing sound erupted in the room. Much like an alarm clock. Ichigo, startled, reached into his pocket, and pulled out a bronze, skull shaped object. The eyes were flashing yellow. It's a spiritual object, so only those with high spiritual energy can see, or hear it. This would be Chad, Orihime, and Ichigo. "Mrs. Ochi," Ichigo began.

"What is it, Ichigo?" she asked. "I'm in the middle of a lesson."

"I need to use the bathroom," Ichigo explained, as he got up from his seat.

"I'm sorry, but it will have to wait until later. This is an important lesson."

Ichigo rushed out of the room. "Sorry, can't wait!"

"Ichigo!" Mrs. Ochi called out of the doorway after him. "Why does that boy need to use the bathroom so much?"

Ichigo rushed onto the field outside, where he pressed the artifact (which is called a combat pass) to his chest. His soul was immediately released from his body. He was now dressed in black robes with a white cloth belt, and a large sword wrapped in bandages on his back.

A blood-curdling howl exploded into the air. A large creature materialized in front of Ichigo. It had a large white mask, and a human like body. This is an evil spirit, called a Hollow.

The bandages unraveled as Ichigo reached for the weapon on his back, revealing his sword, which is now in his hands.

The Hollow gasped and coughed. "Feed me," it said. "A soul!" It leapt at Ichigo, who dodged easily.

Ichigo brought his sword down hard, aiming to slash the Hollow's mask, but it dodged as well. Not without cost though, as Ichigo managed to cut off its left arm. Blood splattered across the grass, gushing from the Hollow's wound.

It howled in pain. Ichigo, seizing the opportunity, leapt into the air, and once again brought his sword down upon the Hollow's mask, this time aiming true. His sword cut through the Hollow's mask cleanly, and the Hollow dematerialized, defeated. Ichigo sighed, as he sheathed his sword.

He walked calmly to his body, which was lying limp on the ground, because there was no soul in it. Ichigo used his combat pass to return to his body, and then he walked back inside the school, spending the rest of the day as any normal high school student would.

Later that night, Ichigo was in his room with an mp3 player in his ears. He was staring out his window, daydreaming.

Kon was snuggled on Ichigo's pillow, sleeping. He gave an occasional twitch. Ichigo felt something on the bottom of his mp3 player. "Huh?" He flipped it over to see the name 'Kon' written in permanent marker. Ichigo clenched his fist. "Dammit, Kon!"

All of a sudden, one of his earpieces was ripped out of his ear. Ichigo turned to see his black haired sister, Karin.

"Can't you hear?" she asked, angrily. "Yuzu says dinner is ready!" Karin left and went back downstairs.

_Jeez, _Ichigo thought. _Although Yuzu and Karin are twins, they act so different._

After dinner, Ichigo went to bed, and slept peacefully. He tossed and turned every so often, as Kon twitched, until he too, fell asleep.

***

Ichigo woke up the next day and got ready for another day of school. Once again, he met Keigo and Chad, and they walked to school. Except this time, Ichigo actually had time for a healthy breakfast.

They walked into classroom 3-B once again. Ichigo sat down and began unpacking. "Well," he sighed, taking out his history textbook. "I guess it's time for another day. The weekend can't come fast enough."

Keigo walked up to Ichigo. "Hey," he began. "I forget, what do we have first period on Wednesdays?"

With a blank stare, Ichigo replied, "What does it look like?" He tapped on his textbook.

"Oh, yeah," Keigo said, jogging back to his desk to take out his own textbook.

Sighing again, Ichigo thought to himself, "Man, only a few minutes into the day, and I already want to get out of here."

"Hello, Ichigo," said a female voice.

"Hey, Orihi…" He was cut off mid-sentence because it wasn't Orihime greeting him. It was a raven haired girl, who was rather short, with beautiful black hair curving outwards near her shoulders. She also had deep blue eyes.

"Rukia!" Ichigo exclaimed.

"What's wrong, Ichigo?" asked another classmate, who sits behind Ichigo.

"Nothing's wrong," Rukia answered. "Right?" She had an innocent tone to her voice.

Ichigo paused. "Yeah," he answered, finally. He pulled Rukia out into the hallway. The other classmates stared, wondering why the urgency. "So what are you doing here? And why do all my classmates act as if you never even left?"

"Because," Rukia explained, her tone more serious. "To them, I never did leave. It's a revolutionary new device called 'Memory Replacement'." Rukia reached into her breast pocket on her school uniform. "Research and development came up with it ten years ago, in case a soul reaper had to return to a previous post, but they had already removed the humans' memories."

"Memory replacement?" Ichigo repeated.

Rukia nodded, as she removed a cylinder shaped object from her pocket. The top was shaped like a rabbit. She handed it to Ichigo. "Here. You press the top, and whoever is in the vicinity will instantly remember anything you made them forget."

"It's…" started Ichigo. "A bunny?"

"Oh, shut up!" scolded Rukia. "So I like bunnies! When I ordered it, they let me customize it, okay?" She took it back from Ichigo, and put it back into her pocket. "Anyway, to your classmates, I'm just Rukia Kuchiki, the new transfer student back for her second year at high school."

"I get it," replied Ichigo, slightly annoyed.

"Don't forget," Rukia said. "I still need to tell you why I came back to the world of the living."

"Oh, right. Well, go ahead."

Just then, a loud bell rang, and Mrs. Ochi poked her head into the hallway. "There you two are," she said, relieved. "I should have guessed that you two would be together. Flirt on your own time, but that was the bell. Class is beginning."

Rukia blushed, and turned away from Ichigo and Mrs. Ochi. Ichigo said, nervously, "That's not what we were doing!" But the teacher had already returned into the classroom.

At first, Ichigo kept glancing at Rukia, eager to hear why she had returned from the Soul Society. After a quiz was handed out, he forgot all about it, and became deeply involved in his work.

Finally, after several hours, lunch period had arrived. Ichigo got up, grabbed his bag, and prepared to leave for the cafeteria. Rukia, grabbed her things, and quickly caught up to Ichigo before he left the room.

In her sweet voice, Rukia asked, "Ichigo, can I talk to you for a moment?"

Having forgotten about their earlier conversation, Ichigo replied, "Just say it, I'm right here."

Rukia then leaned close to Ichigo, so her face was mere inches away from Ichigo's. She was frowning, and staring up at Ichigo with her deep blue eyes in a puppy like stare. "But,"

Feeling an unfamiliar emotion, Ichigo leaned forward as well, his heart beating faster and faster. They were staring in each other's eyes.

Rukia said, "…it's private!" as she kicked him.

Ichigo bent down to rub his shin, as Rukia grabbed his wrist, dragging him into the hallway once again. "Dammit, that hurts!" he complained. She dragged him all the way until they were outside in a fenced in courtyard, where she finally let go.

"That hurt, dammit," Ichigo said, still rubbing his shin. "You know those are hard tipped shoes, right?"

Rukia glared at Ichigo. "Well I had to get you away from the other classmates. You're so clueless. Do you want normal humans to discover the existence of soul reapers and Hollows?"

"What did you say?"

"Have you forgotten," Rukia asked. "That I need to tell you why I'm here. I'm not on vacation, you know."

Instantly remembering, Ichigo replied, "Of course I remember! So out with it. Why are you here?"

Rukia leaned against the fence behind her. She pulled out a sketch pad. "A few days ago," she began, flipping through her pad. "A large mass of spiritual pressure erupted in region 32-X, point K23428." She pointed to a drawing of a blue circle engulfing a town.

"I don't know what that region, point crap means," Ichigo grunted, crossing his arms.

"Just pay attention," Rukia scolded, flipping to the next page. "You probably didn't notice the eruption, because you were never very good at sensing spirit energy." Ichigo grumbled, but Rukia ignored him. "Anyway, the Soul Society sent a small group of soul reapers to this area. They arrived, and the communication line instantly went into static, and then died." She showed him a picture of a rabbit like drawing, holding a radio, then being crossed out. "No further reports were made by that group. So a reconnaissance team was made up, consisting of members from the stealth force. But they didn't return either. We had the same results." Rukia paused, showing another picture of rabbits dressed in black, being crossed out. "So a new group is being formed. Not to scout the area, but to destroy any enemies within."

Ichigo thought for a moment. "Does this have anything to do with Aizen?" he asked, unfolding his arms.

"We don't know," Rukia answered, truthfully. "However, the Soul Society is formally asking you to join this group. We are requesting your assistance, Ichigo. You can think on it if you want."

"I'll do it," Ichigo said, without hesitation. "But tell me, does this place have a name? And is it even in my realm, or is it in the Soul Society?"

"It's in this realm," Rukia answered. "And it's a town called…

'Silent Hill'."


	2. Chapter 2: Setting Out

**Chapter II**

**Setting Out**

The day is almost over. The sun is setting, illuminating the schoolyard with a bright orange glow. Ichigo is sitting on the gates of the Karakura High School. Chad, Rukia, and Orihime are with him.

"So that's it then," Ichigo stated. "We're going to Silent Hill."

"I'll go," Chad announced.

"Me too," replied Orihime.

"Then it's settled," Ichigo said. "So, Rukia, tell me. How much does the Soul Society know about this place?"

Rukia sighed, "Virtually nothing. We only know where it's located, due to the constant overflowing spiritual pressure."

"When do we leave?" Orihime asked.

"Tomorrow morning," Rukia answered. "the rest of our group will meet us halfway."

"Who else is in it?" Ichigo asked.

"I don't know. They didn't tell me either," Rukia said, regretfully.

"So how do we get there?" Chad wondered aloud.

"We walk," Rukia said, matter-of-factly.

"What?" Ichigo exclaimed. "Can't we use a Senkaimon?"

"That only transports you to and from the Soul Society. That can't take us to Silent Hill from here," Rukia answered.

"That doesn't make sense," Ichigo said.

Confused, Rukia asked, "What do you mean?"

"Well," Ichigo started. "Why can't we take a Senkaimon to the Soul Society, and then use another Senkaimon to get to Silent Hill?"

"Because," Rukia answered. "The massive amount of spiritual pressure is interfering with the Senkaimon, disabling us to take it to Silent Hill."

"But I thought that doesn't matter," Orihime asked.

"Normally, you're right," Rukia said. "However, this spiritual pressure is," she paused. "Twisted."

"What do you mean twisted?" Ichigo asked.

"It's not normal!" Rukia snapped. "I've never been to Silent Hill, so how would I know?"

The sun is getting lower, and the sky became darker, causing the air to become chilly.

"It's getting late out," Chad pointed out. "We should get a good night's rest before we leave tomorrow."

"He's right," Rukia agreed. "We'll meet here tomorrow morning. Kisuke will tell you when."

"All right," Ichigo said, getting up. "See you all tomorrow."

They all withdrew to their respective homes, and slept peacefully until the dawn awoke them.

***

The dawn crept through Ichigo's window. Even so, that could not wake him. His window was open, letting in a cool breeze. Kon was sleeping on the windowsill, quite contently. From out of nowhere, a red, water balloon like object flew through his window, slamming into Ichigo's closet. As the red liquid exploded on the closet door, words formed:

_THE TIME IS NOW_

Ichigo continued to sleep. A few minutes went by with no sound emitting from the outside. Ichigo tossed in his bed, turning over and finding a more comfortable position in bed. Another balloon slammed just beneath the last:

_GET UP ICHIGO_

Still, he slept on, completely ignoring the instructions that dripped from his wall. Finally, a third ball flew in, at a much lower velocity, slamming into Ichigo instead. He awoke with a jolt, sitting straight up in his bed, which was covered in red glop. "What is this crap?" he yelled, wiping the red stuff off of his face and out of his hair. It was sticky and thick, like blood. _Not even Kisuke would do something as weird as that, right?_

Ichigo got out of bed, staring at the destroyed, red mess that used to be a bed. He scratched his head, unsure what to do next. Finally, he noticed the messages on his closet door. "Wait," he thought out loud. "How does he know if I'm awake yet?" he looked out his window, which Kon was still sleeping calmly. "Is this guy stalking me?"

Even so, Ichigo grabbed Kon from the windowsill, holding him from the leg, upside down. "Wha?" Kon said, drowsily. His eyes blinked open as he stared at Ichigo. He grumbled as he was forcibly woken up. "What do you want, carrot-top?"

Smirking, Ichigo replied, "Yeah, well, guess what? You're going to be a carrot-top for a few days."

Now interested, Kon asked, "What do you mean? Are you going somewhere?"

"Yeah." Ichigo took out his combat pass and pressed it to Kon's head. A small, green pill fell from the now lifeless stuffed animal, and to the floor. The plush toy hung limp from Ichigo's hand. Ichigo picked up the pill from the floor, and swallowed it. His soul was forced from his body, leaving Ichigo in his Soul Reaper uniform, called a Shihakshô. Ichigo's body was not limp; however, as Kon's soul now inhabited it.

"Make sure you attend all my classes," Ichigo instructed, moving towards the window. "And if I find out you harassed any of my classmates, like last time, you're in a world of plush toy hell when I get back, you got that?"

"Where's the fun in that?" Kon asked, slyly.

"Kon!"

"All right, I get it!" Kon raised his arms to show no hostility. "Where're you going, anyway?"

"Don't worry about it."

Kon replied, irritably, "What do you mean 'don't worry about it'? I'm part of this team too! Rukia may be gone, but that doesn't mean it's all you! I need time to shine too!"

"Would you settle down?" asked Ichigo. Sighing, he explained, "If it'll make you feel better, then fine. I'm going to a town called Silent Hill."

"Why?"

"I don't have time to explain it to you right now, Kon."

"And why not?"

"Because I'm already late," Ichigo replied as he jumped out his window, landing safely on his feet down below. He then began running to school through the dimly lit streets. The grass smelt like fresh dew as he ran past his neighborhood. His own house faded away into the darkness behind him.

When Ichigo arrived, Rukia, Kisuke, Orihime, Chad, and Uryu were all there, waiting for him by the gates of the high school, like last night.

Kisuke Urahara is a tall man with shaggy blonde hair, with stubble on his chin. He was wearing a green hat that shaded his eyes completely, along with a long, dark green robe that was left open. He also wore a tan gi underneath his robe. He carried a long cane beside him.

Uryu Ishida is also tall, but skinny as well. He has dark black hair and glasses, which he continuously repositions with his index and middle fingers.

"Uryu," Ichigo started. "I didn't know you'd be here. Are your Quincy powers returning?"

"Well," Uryu said, with a hint of depression in his voice. "Not exactly. They don't return as easily as a Soul Reaper's would."

So what good are you then?" Ichigo asked.

"Wha?" Uryu replied, angrily. "I can put just as much to this team as you can, Ichigo!"

Shrugging, Ichigo replied, "Okay, whatever you say."

"Actually," put in Kisuke. His voice was calm and intellectual. "Uryu may not have his powers anymore, but he's right, he can still contribute greatly, which is why I thought it would be wise to take him along."

"How so?" Ichigo asked.

"For instance," Kisuke replied. "Uryu is clearly the most strategic and intellectual person in this group. He can compose battle plans and think clearly in a difficult situation and assess it with confidence." Kisuke paused. "Everyone here contributes in their own way."

"All right," Ichigo admitted, irritated. "Let's just get going."

"I must warn you," Kisuke began. "This is unknown territory. Silent Hill is an unexplored area. Not to mention the undeniable amount of spiritual pressure emitting from it." His eyes became visible underneath his hat. The glared at the group with a felling of apprehension. "You don't know what awaits you."

Smiling, Ichigo replied, "Don't worry, Kisuke. If things get too bad, I still have my Bankai."

"I'm not doubting your abilities, Ichigo," Kisuke continued, his eyes still visible. "But you don't know what's there."

"Wait," Uryu began. "The way you're saying this, it's like you're not coming with us, Kisuke."

"Unfortunately, no," Kisuke answered. "I do have my shop to look after. Besides, the Soul Society may not appreciate me being there."

"I see," Ichigo said. "In that case, we'll see you soon, Hat-and-Clogs."

His hat now shading his eyes again, Kisuke replied, "Why do you call me that? You just called me Kisuke, so I know you know my name."

"It just stuck," Ichigo replied.

"Let's go," Rukia announced, beginning to walk away.

"Wait up," Ichigo said, chasing after her. The others followed.

Kisuke stood by himself. _Good luck. _He thought. _You'll need it in Silent Hill. I don't know what lies there, but if it's got the Soul Society this alarmed, than it's not good._

The group began their walk in the dark streets of Karakura town. An occasional bark was heard, and the constant sound of crickets filled the air. The sky was dark, with few clouds in the sky, promising good weather for the later part of the day. The repeated footsteps pounded on the ground.

The group traveled for miles as the sun got higher and higher into the sky, and the world around them became brighter. The air became thicker and hotter and the day drew on. They talked, shared stories, and played travel games to pass the time. Now they had moved out Karakura town, and been traveling on the highway. Some passengers in the passing cars would glance at the travelers, but no one really thought that anything out of the ordinary was going on, considering that the Soul Reapers could not be seen, and the others which could be seen, were dressed normally. Finally, they left the highway, and were on a long roadway, with vast land, and few houses. Every so often they would pass a farm with either a young boy would be chasing chickens, or a grown man would be plowing.

"Okay, Ichigo," Orihime said cheerfully. "Keep going!" She smiled, clearly enjoying herself.

Sighing, Ichigo replied, "All right," he paused. "Is it bigger than a house?" He was slouching and dragging his legs.

"Nope."

Thinking briefly, Ichigo asked, "Can you eat it?"

"Yeah!"

"Is it a steak?"

Laughing, Orihime answered, "Nope! That's nineteen questions. You get one more!"

"Come on, guys," Ichigo addressed the rest of the group. "Am I the only one playing?"

After a short pause, Rukia said, "Looks like it."

"Some help you guys are," Ichigo grumbled. "All right, one more guess, right?" He paused, thinking again. He sighed. "Is it a cookie?"

"No, Ichigo," Orihime giggled. "It was bean paste!"

With a look of surprise on his face, Ichigo asked, "What the hell is bean paste?"

"You put it on bread and things like that," Orihime answered. "You've never heard of it before? It's really good."

"I guess so," Ichigo replied. "Only you would think of something like that, Orihime." She giggled.

"Do you want to play another round, Ichigo?" Orihime asked politely. "I'll pick something easier this time!"

"Heck no!" Ichigo answered sharply. "You think of the weirdest things, Orihime."

"I'll play," Uryu announced, pushing up his glasses to fit snugly on his nose.

"Yay," Orihime cheered. "Thanks, Uryu!" She thought for a moment. "Okay," she said. "You can start guessing."

A pig was heard snorting in the distance, as a tractor engine was started. It roared fiercely as it was brought to life.

"Is it a person, place, or thing?" Uryu asked.

"A place."

"Can you eat there?"

"Yes," Orihime answered, slightly shocked.

"Do you go there regularly?" Uryu was becoming more confident with each question.

"Yes."

"Is it the cafeteria at school?" Uryu asked, finally, sounding completely sure of him self.

Shocked, Orihime replied, "Yeah! See I told you that would be easier!" She laughed, thoroughly enjoying herself.

Staring in disbelief, Ichigo asked, "Uryu, how the hell did you guess that? You didn't ask a single useless question!"

"Easy," Uryu answered. "The first question you should ask is 'is it a person, place or thing'? Then, once I found out that it was a place, I needed to know what you can do there, to get a vague idea of what it was. Knowing that she eats there, I asked how regularly, because there are a lot of places around town that you can eat. She said she goes a lot. That meant it couldn't be an expensive place, considering Orihime relies on relatives for her food. Then I really took a guess. My next question would have been 'is it your house?'"

Taking in all the information, Ichigo replied, "I get it. But," he paused. "Don't you think that was a little over the top for a game of Twenty Questions?"

"That's why I'm the smart one in the group," Uryu replied smugly.

"Anyway," Ichigo continued. "I thought we didn't have a cafeteria in school."

"That's because you are completely oblivious," Uryu replied.

"Oh, yeah? Then why do we always eat our own food?"

"Because," Uryu explained. "You never notice, but most people go to the cafeteria first, then come back to the classroom. A lot of people don't even use it though. They either bring their own food, like Orihime, or buy food from other local markets, like you, Ichigo."

"Damn," Ichigo growled. "Why don't I notice that kind of crap?"

The sun was now quite high in the sky, blazing down on the group, who had no protection from the hot rays. Orihime covered herself in Chad's giant shadow. "Okay, Chad, do you want to play?" Orihime asked.

He remained silent. Then after a pause, said, "Not really. Sorry."

"That's okay, "Orihime answered happily. "What about you Rukia?" Orihime peeked over Chad's side to get a glimpse of Rukia, who was leading the group, holding her cell phone, which made noises as it displayed a map on its screen.

Looking back, Rukia answered, "That's not really my thing, Orihime."

Sighing, Orihime replied, "Okay." She paused. "So how much longer do you think we need to go?"

"Why, are you tired?" Rukia asked.

Interrupting, Ichigo said, "Think about it, Rukia. Orihime isn't used to this kind of thing. She doesn't have the same endurance level as the rest of us."

Smiling, Orihime spoke up, "I'll be okay. Honest."

After another mile or so, the sound of the tractor had completely faded away. They traveled in silence, until Chad asked another question. "Do we actually know where we are going?"

Rukia held up her cell phone. "Of course," she replied. "This little device has a map that will lead us to Silent Hill." It blinked and made other electronic sounds.

"But what I don't get," Ichigo began. "Is why didn't the Soul Society send that group to us first? Why meet up with us later?"

"They wanted to start the examination of Silent Hill as soon as possible," Rukia responded. "So when they sent me to recruit you and the others, that group was already on route. They won't begin until we meet up with them, but they can properly prepare while they're there, and maybe scout out the outskirts of town."

"What do you mean the 'outskirts'?" Uryu asked. "I thought they were going to meet us halfway."

"There's more than one person in the group," Rukia replied. "They have men that can mobilize. I'm sure they sent men ahead to scout it out, while others wait for us."

"How many are going to be in that group?" Chad asked. "It sounds like a lot."

"I'd imagine it would be," Rukia replied. She stopped for a second, checking her map on the cell phone.

"What's wrong?" Ichigo asked.

"We need to cut through here," Rukia answered. "She that in the distance?" She pointed to the side of the road which was just vast land. When they looked closer, they could see in the far background was a shadowy forest.

"I see it," Ichigo said.

"All the way over there?" Orihime groaned.

"It won't be that bad," Uryu reassured her.

The group walked towards that forest, quickly reaching it, although to them it seemed to take forever. No matter how many steps they took, it seemed like it wasn't getting any closer. Eventually, they did actually reach it. They stepped through the first brush of trees, enveloped in darkness. Although it seemed that way at first, once their eyes adjusted, there was actually a surprising amount of light hidden within it. It glowed with a beautiful glow, shining beauty on every inch of the forest. Butterflies flew among each other, as leaves fell from the trees above. As they walked inside, the farm and the road quickly became invisible to them, as did the sounds of the farm.

"Now that we made it this far," Chad began. "Why don't we take a break? We haven't even sat down since we left town hours ago."

"He's right," Rukia agreed. "Let's at least sit down."

They found a small clearing, completely shaded, with nice, soft moss covering the ground. They all sat, relaxing. The sun's rays could no longer reach the group at all. The trees fully protected them.

"It'll feel good to rest," Chad said, exhausted.

The group stayed under the trees for a while. A little longer than Rukia would have wanted, but their muscles were very much rejuvenated. Not fully, but they had some energy again. The cool trees made them all feel relaxed, as the rested their sore legs.

"I guess I should have worked harder in physical education," Ichigo laughed. "Man, I hate to say it, but I'm not too hyped about getting up again." He paused for a moment. Then stared at Uryu. "Hey," he began. "Give me one of those sandwiches."

"Huh?" Uryu asked, confused.

"I know you're carrying one of the backpacks with food in it. Give me some, I'm starving!"

"No way," Uryu replied, sharply. "You became a spirit being once you left your body. You don't need food to survive, like the rest of us. So save it for the people who actually do need it."

Angry, Ichigo snapped, "What're you talking about? Soul Reapers need to eat too!"

"Yes, but," Rukia interrupted. "That's because we are in our normal bodies. We have no need to use our spirit beings, unless we are in the world of the living, so no one else can see us. So we do need food, but you, Ichigo, need to become a spirit being to be a Soul Reaper. So you don't actually need the food."

"Oh, I see," Ichigo replied. "So only I don't get food? Whose side are you on, Rukia?" His voice rose, and got angry. "Well that doesn't seem right to me! Give me some food, dammit!" He reached for the bag next to Uryu, which Uryu managed to grab before Ichigo did.

Scowling, Ichigo said, "Would you just give me the damn bag?"

"Ichigo," Uryu scolded. "Don't you listen? We just explained this to you!"

"Like I care!"

"I can't take this," Rukia said, getting up. She began to walk away, as Ichigo chased after her.

"Wait, Rukia," Ichigo pleaded. "Where are you going?"

Angry, Rukia snapped, "Why do you need to know?" After a pause, she answered. "I'm going over here." She began to walk towards a large tree.

"Why?"

"Do you really want to know?" Rukia asked.

"I guess, why not? It's kind of suspicious, if you ask me," Ichigo replied.

Blushing, Rukia answered, "If you must know, I'm going to the bathroom!"

Ichigo blinked, embarrassed.

"Do you want to know any other personal information about me? Want to know my birthday? Or maybe you'd be more interested in my bra size?" Rukia walked off in a fit.

Returning to the rest of the group, Ichigo thought to him self, _damn, she gets so angry. I was actually worried about her, but I guess she just needed to use the bathroom._ He paused. Then started thinking again, this time out loud. "Actually, I never hear her talk about herself, now that I really think about it. I could care less about her bra size, but I do wonder what her birthday is."

"It's January fourteenth, okay?"

Ichigo turned around to see Rukia, tightening her white cloth belt to her Shihakshô. "Oh," Ichigo said, softly. "I was actually just kidding, you know. That was quick, by the way."

Rukia brushed past him, ignoring his comments, returning to the rest of the group. "Man," Ichigo thought. "I guess I shouldn't go camping with Rukia anytime soon."

He also returned to the group, hearing Rukia say, "We've stayed too long, let's get moving."

Unwillingly, the group gathered their belongings, and continued their journey. The walk was rather uneventful, with a few birds chirping in the distance, or the quick sound of a squirrel climbing a tree. They traveled in silence most of the way, with Rukia still leading. The trees seemed to become thinner, as more light penetrated the forest.

After around an hour of walking, the group halted when Rukia put her hand up, signaling for them to stop moving. She listened into the forest for any sounds. No one else heard anything, and apparently, neither did Rukia, as she continued to listen.

Ichigo stepped forward. "What's up?" he asked. "Is something wrong?" He spoke calmly.

Rukia remained quiet for a second. Then she said, "Someone's here." She glanced from tree to tree, studying them individually.

"Maybe it's the other group," Orihime suggested.

Rukia shook her head. "No, we would have sensed their spiritual pressure." Leaves rustled faintly. Rukia's ears listened intently, as her eyes narrowed. An awkward silence filled the air. It was unnerving, just standing there with a potential enemy just around the corner.

"Should we be just standing here?" Chad asked.

Suddenly, a sharp object flew through the air. Rukia nimbly dodged this, as it swiftly brushed past her face, digging itself deeply into a tree just behind her. There was no time to study the object, so Rukia just yelled, "Get down!"

Ichigo instinctively reached for his sword, but his efforts were in vein. A thin rope, invisible to the naked eye unless sunlight reflected off of it, emerged from the tree behind him, wrapping itself around Ichigo, pinning him to the tree. "Damn!" Ichigo yelled furiously. He struggled to get free, but the rope was far too strong to be broken by brute force. The more he struggled, the more it dug deeper into his skin, drawing small drips of blood.

"Ichigo!" Rukia yelled, beginning to rush to his aid. Another object was thrown, this one spun continuously through the air, heading towards Uryu.

Uryu managed to see it before it hit him, so he moved as far to the side as he could, before the impact was made. It was still able to make a deep cut into his arm. Uryu grabbed his arm, to compensate for the pain. Blood flowed vigorously through his shirt, onto his hand, and down his arm. He clenched his teeth in pain.

A shadow appeared behind the tree that Ichigo was stuck to, leaping from its hiding place. It kicked in the air, making contact with Rukia's face before she could assist Ichigo. She was taken by surprise, as she fell to the ground. The figure was behind her now, holding a large, knife like tool to her neck. Beads of sweat dripped from her forehead. She stayed there, frozen. Not out of fear, but out of helplessness. There was nothing she could do.

The shadowed figure was now clearly visible. It was a man, wearing a green vest with many large pockets, over a black under suit. There was a red circle shaped symbol on his right shoulder, with a spiral inside. He was also wearing a headband, with an insignia in the center. This insignia was another spiral, more open this time, with a curved "L" on the left side. His hair was in an upwards ponytail, with many split ends. He also had a scar across his nose.

Orihime, taking action, yelled "Tsubaki," She paused briefly. "Koten Zanshun, I reject!" She yelled this while holding her hairpins. They illuminated a yellow glow, as a beam of light shot out from them, traveling at extreme speeds.

The man who had pinned Rukia moved to the side the best he could, but was still struck in the arm. The light disappeared, replaced by blood, erupting from a deep gash in the man's arm. Blood splashed onto the nearby trees, staining them red. He howled in pain, as his arm hung limp at his side, completely useless. However, he held his grip tightly to Rukia's neck, holding the knife fiercely.

Another wire came from nowhere, quickly tying Orihime to a tree as well. Smoke engulfed Chad's arm, revealing a black, red, and white glove which suddenly appeared on his right arm when the smoke dissipated. This glove stretched to his hand, all the way to his shoulder.

The man who had Rukia pinned opened his eyes wide. He clenched his teeth in pain at his throbbing wound. Which was still pouring blood, and showed no signs of stopping anytime soon? Through clenched teeth, he said, "What the hell are these monsters?"

Chad cocked back his right arm, as it glowed with a white energy. Suddenly, his glove disappeared before he could use it. Chad's eyes rolled to the back of his head as he fell to the ground. Another one of the spinning tools was dug into his back. Blood flowed into a puddle around his body.

Uryu stood in disbelief. He was still holding his wound, which was also still bleeding. _I'm all that's left, _he thought. He could see Ichigo struggling as hard as he could through the wire, despite the fact that it was cutting him quite deeply. Uryu was frozen, unsure what to do.

The figure that had pinned Orihime abandoned its hiding place. With a knife in hand, it charged at Uryu at full speed. All Uryu could do was stare in the face of his attacker, as he rushed towards Uryu, with the full intent to kill him.

Ichigo was still stuck to the tree, struggling. "Dammit!" he screamed. He let out a deep yell, attempting to break the wire, with fruitless results.

Rukia stared with complete helplessness as Uryu stood still, waiting to be killed.

Time seemed to move slowly for Uryu. He could see Ichigo struggling to help, Rukia lying down, a knife held to her neck, Orihime pinned to a tree, and Chad on the ground, blood spreading around his body. Still, he could not move his legs, no matter what his mind told them to do. _I can't move, _he thought. _What do I do? I'm going to die if I don't move! What do I do? What do I do…?_

19


	3. Chapter 3: Village Hidden In The Leaves

**Chapter III**

**The Village Hidden In The Leaves**

Uryu opened his eyes slowly. A black robed figure stood in front of him. He was clearly wearing a Soul Reaper's uniform, a Shihakshô. "Ichigo?" whispered Uryu, assuming Ichigo had broken free from his prison.

"You amateurs are so careless!" scolded a gruff, rugged voice. This man has red hair, tied back into a ponytail, but was far from tied neatly, like a woman's would be. A white cloth was used to keep his hair in place. He has many weird formations and patterns painted in black on his forehead, neck, and arms. He too had a sword, and it was in locked combat with the other man who had attacked Uryu.

"Renji!" Uryu exclaimed, addressing the red haired man.

Renji's face was glowering with the full intent to kill. "Back off!" he yelled, as he effortlessly threw the other man back.

The other two men who had attacked Ichigo and his party opened their eyes wide with surprise. "Wait," began one of the men. "You can talk?"

"What?" Uryu replied, as he returned their glare. "What is that supposed to mean? Of course we can talk!"

"Oh, no," said the man who had Rukia pinned. "We made a terrible mistake."

Growling, Ichigo yelled, "Damn right you did!"

"I'm sorry," continued the man. "You see, our village has been under siege from a terrible enemy. His army is that of mainly grunts, who can't even talk. Shinobi from the Village Hidden in the Sound. Our forces could detect an insane amount of chakra coming from this area of the forest. We've never met any travelers with power like this, so we assumed foolishly that you were part of the enemy's army."

Renji pointed at Ichigo. "That must be this amateur. He can't even control his flow of energy!"

"What did you say?" Ichigo snapped. "Come here and say that, you tattooed freak!"

Glowering, Renji replied, "These are markings! The reason for them is something I don't feel like telling you, because you wouldn't even understand! Besides, don't act so tough when you're tied to a tree, you moron!"

Coughing to gather everyone's attention, the man who had pinned Rukia got up. "My name is Iruka. And this is my comrade, Asuma." Iruka's arm still dripped with blood from Orihime's attack. Iruka had black hair, tied back much like Renji's, but instead of a white cloth, it was that headband. He also had a large scar stretching across his nose.

Asuma had spiky black hair, and wore the same outfit as Iruka. Rukia brushed herself off, as she also got up.

Iruka quickly walked over to Ichigo. "I'll cut you loose with my kunai." He used the large knife to cut the wire holding Ichigo to the tree. Then he walked over to Orihime, and repeated the process. His arm still bled profusely.

"Here," Orihime offered as soon as she was cut loose. "Sôten Kishun," she paused briefly. "I reject." Another beam of light appeared once she put her hands to her hairpins. Instead of a projectile, these lights formed a shield around Iruka's bleeding arm.

Iruka's eyes opened with shock, as his arm ceased bleeding. His skin began to regenerate rapidly, as his wound sealed up, in mere seconds. "What kind of jutsu is that?" he asked, moving his arm to test it.

"It's my power," Orihime replied. "I have the ability to heal people."

"As hard as it is for me to say," Asuma said. "That's even more incredible than Lady Tsunade's abilities."

Orihime quickly ran over to Chad. She gasped as she looked at the full extent of his wound.

"I thought Chad should have seen that coming," Ichigo said. "He isn't the type to lose a fight."

"To be honest," Uryu replied. "I thought there was only one attacker. The second one surprised me when he took out Chad." He glanced at Asuma, knowing he was the one to throw the spinning tool into Chad's back. "He probably had no idea what hit him."

The tool was easy to view, now that it was no longer spinning in the air. It was a shuriken, a ninja's throwing star.

"Is he dead?" Orihime asked, worried.

"No way," Ichigo replied. "Chad won't die. He's too strong to die on us like that." He pointed to the shuriken. "But we might want to hurry up and heal him. He's losing a lot of blood." Ichigo ripped the shuriken out of Chad's back. Blood immediately poured from the wound, forming a pool around his body.

Orihime repeated the healing process. "Sôten Kishun," another pause. "I reject," The light shield formed around Chad's back, as it slowly healed.

After a few minutes, Iruka asked, "Should it take this long? You healed my arm in no time at all. Why is this wound any different?"

"Well," Uryu answered. When Orihime used her attack, you were able to swiftly dodge it. She aimed for your chest, and if it made contact, you would have died instantly. But instead, it hit your arm. You weren't hit with the full impact of her attack."

"Besides," said a squeaky voice. "This wound is much deeper."

Asuma and Iruka looked around, trying to find the source to this mysterious voice.

"Down here," it said again. It was a blonde haired fairy that was beside Chad, at one end of the shield. "My name is Shunô."

Iruka gasped. "What the hell? A fairy is talking to me!"

Frowning, Shunô replied, "I'm not a fairy. I'm Orihime's power."

"Oh," Iruka said. "That makes sense." His voice was rich with sarcasm. He turned to Orihime. "What style of jutsu are you using?"

"I don't know what jutsu is," Orihime replied. "But these are my powers. I use these little guys. You can call them fairies if you want. I can make a shield to reject any attacks outside of it. I can also create a shield that rejects any damage within it, which heals things. My last ability is to use one of my fairies as a weapon. He slices into my enemy, and splits him in half."

After a pause, Iruka said, grasping his arm, "Yeah, I know that personally. That's some scary jutsu."

"In fact," Asuma began. "It might even be forbidden. Just like the type that _he _uses."

"These guys aren't followers of Orochimaru," Iruka replied. "Look at them. They don't even know what jutsu are, or even who Orochimaru is."

Picking up the shuriken, Ichigo fumbled with it in his hands. "So you're ninja?" he asked.

"Asuma nodded. "Yes, but who are you? Where are you traveling to?"

Ichigo and his company introduced themselves. "And that's Chad," Orihime said, pointing to Chad, who was still lying in the ground, unmoving.

"I see," Asuma replied. "So where is your destination?"

Rukia spoke up, "We are headed to a town called Silent Hill."

"Never heard of it."

"That's okay," Ichigo replied. "After we're all healed here, we'll be on our way then."

"If you'd like," Iruka offered. "You can follow us to our village. You can rest up there, and replenish your supplies. It would also be a good place for your friend to heal."

"That's greatly appreciated," Uryu began. "But we really must continue moving."

"Iruka!" Asuma yelled. "You know that we cannot allow outsiders! Especially during this war with Orochimaru!"

"Oh, come on," Iruka replied. "You know as well as I do that they need the rest. They are clearly not enemies, or else this guy here," he pointed to Renji. "would have killed us for sure by now. Besides, Orochimaru cannot transfer bodies for at least another year and a half. He won't be attacking the village anytime soon."

"Uryu," Rukia began. "The sun will be getting low soon. By the time we get to this village, the sun might be setting by then. It's earlier than I would have liked to make camp too. I was hoping to make camp at the gates of Silent Hill, but that will have to wait. Chad is too wounded. Also, a good night's rest will make us up to one hundred percent tomorrow."

"I suppose we have no choice, with Chad so weakened."

They began walking, with the two ninja leading them into the forest. Ichigo and Renji carried the unconscious Chad. After a few miles of petty conversation, Iruka finally asked, "So we didn't actually get your name."

Renji replied, "Oh, right. Sorry about that. My name is Renji Abarai. I'm the lieutenant to squad six of the thirteen court guard squads."

Huffing, Ichigo replied, "Like they know what that means."

Growling, Renji replied, "Hey why don't you shut up, you runt!"

Ichigo got in Renji's face. "Why don't you make me! Besides, you're the runt! You grew up in that crappy town, not me!"

"Ichigo!" Rukia snapped. "Shut up for once!"

Taken aback, Ichigo asked, "What's her problem?"

Renji answered, "She grew up with me, you idiot! That's her hometown too!"

Ichigo quieted down. Asuma leaned over to Uryu. "So are those three usually this obnoxious?"

"Actually," Uryu replied. "It's usually just Ichigo and Renji."

Smiling, Asuma said, "kind of reminds me of what someone told me once. About his students. There are two out of his three that are real rivals. Kind of like those two. Hell, they even talk the same." He took out a cigarette, and lit it.

"So," Ichigo said. "Renji, I've been meaning to ask," he paused. "Are you the entire second group that we were supposed to meet up with?"

"Of course not," Renji snapped. "You guys were taking so long, that they sent me ahead to meet up with you, and take you back to them. And when I got to you, you were all getting beaten up, and I had to save all your asses!"

"Who else is in that group?" Rukia asked.

"It's a relatively small one," Renji replied. "But there's Ikkaku Madarame, Rangiku Matsumoto, Captain Hitsugaya, lieutenant Yachiru, and Captain Zaraki."

Gaping, Rukia replied, "They need two captains fro this mission? Not only that but two lieutenants?"

"Three, actually," Renji replied. "I'm a lieutenant too."

"Who's the third?" Iruka asked. "I only heard you say two lieutenants."

"Rangiku Matsumoto is a lieutenant as well," Renji answered.

"But is Silent Hill really that dangerous?" Uryu asked.

"We don't know," Renji replied. "But that's why it's so dangerous."

"Right," Ichigo said. "And, hey, Iruka was it? I wanted to ask you something."

"Huh? What is it?"

"What's that thing on your forehead?"

"Ah, this," Iruka replied, putting his hand up to the headband. "This is a symbol to show that you have graduated the Ninja Academy at the Hidden Leaf Village." He paused. "But shouldn't you know that?"

"Well, we're not from here," Orihime said. "We're from Karakura town."

"Never heard of that place either," Asuma said.

"Can I try it on?" Ichigo asked Iruka.

"What, the headband?" Iruka asked, as Ichigo nodded. "Absolutely not. You'll get one when you graduate the academy. You seem way too old to be still in the academy though. Why haven't you graduated yet?"

"I don't go to ninja school," Ichigo answered. "I don't even go to your village."

"But," Asuma replied. "Every hidden village has a set ninja academy. What's wrong with your village?"

"We don't live in a village," Ichigo answered.

"Then you'll have to go to ours once you get back to the village after your mission.," Asuma smiled.

Snickering, Iruka replied, "Can you imagine, Asuma? A sixteen year old at the academy?"

Surprised, Ichigo asked, "How did you know I was sixteen? I never told you that."

"It was a lucky guess," Iruka replied. "It isn't that hard to guess." After a pause, he began again, "But what are you? You wear black robes. But you're not part of the Akatsuki because you don't have red clouds on your robes. What organization are you from? You, Rukia and Renji are all wearing the same thing."

"We're Soul Reapers," Renji answered. "We are spiritual being that send departed souls either to heaven or hell. Sometimes in this world, you people call it 'passing on'."

"So you're ghosts?" Asuma asked.

"If you want to look at it that way, I suppose that works."

"Well," Asuma smiled. "That's an incredible story. Unfortunately, I don't believe you."

"That's understandable," Uryu said. "But what I don't get is that Soul Reapers are spiritual beings. Normal humans can't see them. Yet the two of you can see all three of the Soul Reapers that are here right now, right?" Both Asuma and Iruka nodded.

"However," Rukia interrupted. Those with an unusual amount of spiritual energy can also see spirits. Like Ichigo." She stared at the two ninja. "I get a weird sense from them. It isn't quite spiritual pressure. It's something else. Some other form of energy."

"Same here," Renji replied.

"I can't sense anything," Ichigo complained.

"That's because you don't know how," Renji snapped. "You're not a real Soul Reaper!"

"What was that?" Ichigo threatened.

"You heard me!"

"Shut up, the both of you!" Rukia said, shoving Ichigo at the same time.

Asuma and Iruka stopped moving. The others stopped as well.

"What's wrong?" Ichigo asked.

"What do you mean?" Iruka asked. "We're here."

They all stared at two very large green doors, guarding a large gate that surrounded an entire city. They doors were opened, revealing the contents of the village.

"Hard to believe I missed that one," Ichigo said, glumly.

"You really are oblivious," Renji retorted. Ichigo ignored him.

All the houses were wooden, with many people hustling around inside. The roofs were all painted red, green, or were left the natural wooden color.

"This," Iruka announced proudly. "Is the Village Hidden In The Leaves!"

They all walked in through the gates. "Kind of reminds me of walking through the gates to the Soul Society," Ichigo smiled.

"Okay," Asuma said. "Feel free to stay as long as you want. I assume we don't need to hold your hands." He finished the last drag of his cigarette, as he flicked it to the ground. After a pause, he rethought his decision. He picked it up and threw it into the garbage by the gate.

_Such respect for their home, _Rukia thought.

"Iruka needs to teach at the academy, and I need to gather my students for a survival exercise before they go off on their first missions alone."

"Thanks," Ichigo replied. "We'll manage from here on out. We need to get this guy to a good place to heal. Know any?" He referred to Chad.

"Yeah," Iruka replied. "There's a good hotel if you go east from here. It's by the Ichiraku Ramen shop."

"Ramen!" Orihime exclaimed. "We need to go there Ichigo, I love ramen!"

Chuckling, Iruka said, "That's funny. I know someone like that. If you see him, chances are he'll be at Ichiraku." He paused. "Except that he left the village almost two years ago to do some training. Anyway, as an apology, we'd like you to have this money. This should take care of the hotel bill, and your ramen dinner." He smiled as Ichigo accepted the money.

"Thanks again," Ichigo said, as they began to walk away from Iruka and Asuma.

They walked for only a short while before they found the Ichiraku Ramen shop. "Oh, here it is!" Orihime exclaimed. "I hope they have wasabi!"

Making a disgusted face, Ichigo said, "Wasabi? In ramen?"

"Yeah."

"Okay, whatever you want, Orihime. Let's find the hotel first though." Just like Iruka explained, the hotel was close to Ichiraku.

They quickly checked in, taking multiple rooms. Two on the third floor, and one on the second. The group was huddled in the third floor room, with Chad and Orihime on the bed. Shunô was with the other fairy, Ayame, as they healed Chad's damaged back.

Ichigo grabbed his arms, as they dripped with blood. "Damn," he said. "I reopened my wounds.

"Sorry, Ichigo," Orihime said. "I haven't had the chance to heal you yet. Or you, Uryu."

"It's okay," Uryu said. "Chad's wounds are much more serious. You need to focus on him right now."

After a few moments, Shunô got up. "That's all we could do," she said, frowning. "He should just rest now."

"Thank you very much," Orihime said. Shunô and Ayame disappeared in a small, yellow light, back into Orihime's hairpins.

"I guess we should let him rest for now," Ichigo suggested. "I'm going to my room." He got up and left, as Renji followed. They had the same room, next to Chad's. Rukia and Orihime went to the second floor, where their room was. Uryu stayed, as he was sharing a room with Chad that night.

"This is going to be a lively night," Uryu replied. "Not much for conversation tonight, Chad?" His only response was a quick snort as Chad slept. "Didn't think so."

Inside Ichigo's room, Renji was staring at a large box in front of the two beds, against the wall. "What is this thing?"

"It's a T.V." Ichigo explained. "I'm going to go out for a while."

"Huh? Where to? You don't even know your way around this place."

"So?" Ichigo asked. "There's only one way to learn."

"I guess you're right," Renji said, smirking. "All right, I suppose I'll go too. I won't follow you, but anything beats sitting in here. The sun isn't even down yet."

Once Ichigo and Renji entered the lobby, they noticed that Orihime and Rukia were there too. "Oh," Orihime began. "You decided to have a look around too?"

"Yeah," Ichigo replied. "Where's Uryu?"

"I guess he didn't want to come," Rukia replied.

"I see. Okay, I'm going to go then."

Orihime replied, "Wait, Ichigo. Can I come with you?"

"Huh?" Ichigo asked. "Well, sure, if you want."

Ichigo and Orihime left the hotel. A red glow illuminated the village, as the sun set. "Where first?" Ichigo wondered. I suppose we could check out that river." He pointed to a river in the distance, which was sparkling in the sun light.

"Okay," Orihime answered gleefully. "let's go!" They walked in a calm manner, exchanging small talk. They visited many different areas of the village as the sun got lower and lower. Until they wound up back at the river. Orihime was leaning over the edge, staring into the deep water.

"Hey, don't do that!" Ichigo exclaimed. "You'll fall!" But it was too late. She fell in, splashing. "Dammit."

But once Orihime resurfaced, she was laughing happily. Ichigo sighed, then smiled. "Man, you're so clumsy, Orihime."

"Come in, Ichigo," Orihime requested, bobbing on the surface of the water.

"No thanks," Ichigo replied.

"Hey," Came a voice on the other side of the river. "You guys can't be in there." It was a young girl carrying a lot of books. The stack of books were taller than she was, but somehow she managed it. She had a cute face with pink hair that went down to her shoulders. "You need to get out of there, sorry. If you want a bath, you can go to the hot springs."

"Oh," Orihime replied, waving. "Sorry about that!."

"What do you think?" Ichigo asked.

"About what?" Orihime asked.

"Those hot springs sound like a good idea to me right about now."

"Oh, give me a break," said another voice behind Ichigo. Turning around, he noticed that the voice belonged to Rukia. "You just want to see her naked."

Blushing, Ichigo snapped, "Hell no!"

Smirking, Rukia said, "Oh so then you don't find her attractive?"

"Would you shut up?" Ichigo yelled.

Ichigo noticed that Rukia was not wearing her Shihakshô. "Where's your robe?"

"I'm not going to be a Soul Reaper right now. Not everyone has unusual spirit energy, so they wouldn't be able to see me. So I'm in a gigai, or a temporary body that normal humans can see."

"I know what a gigai is," Ichigo replied.

"A warm bath sounds good to me right about now," Orihime replied. Ichigo helped her out of the river.

A short walk later, they arrived at the hot springs. Rukia decided to come along as well.

"This must be it," Rukia said, reading the sign. "Let's go in." Once they walked in, there was two doorways. One was labeled 'Men', the other 'Women'.

Ichigo stared at the signs. Rukia stepped closer to him. "Disappointed?" Ichigo turned to her with a look of pure irritation on his face. "I guess you won't get to see this," Rukia lifted up her skirt slightly, to show most of her leg.

"Can't you just shut up? I don't care about that!"

Rukia laughed as she and Orihime went to the other room. Ichigo walked through the one labeled men.

They each quickly undressed and dipped into the boiling hot water, which was emitting a lot of steam. A tall wooden fence separated the two pools from each other. They relaxed, letting the water completely wash away their thoughts. By now, they sun had been completely swallowed up by the horizon, and darkness filled the air. The only light was from lamps in the hot springs building. Ichigo had a towel over his face.

"So," Rukia began. "What do you think Kon's doing in your body right now?"

"I don't want to think about it," Ichigo replied.

"Hey, Orihime," Rukia said. "Doesn't it feel good to be completely naked?"

Ichigo gulped. "Okay, what the hell?" _She's only doing this to piss me off. _"Why are you acting like that?"

Giggling, Rukia replied, "Yoruichi told me about your baths with her while you were training to learn Bankai."

"Damn her," Ichigo scowled. "Nothing happened! She was in her cat form anyway!"

"You must have been disappointed," Rukia replied.

"Who invited you along anyway?" Ichigo replied.

"I did," Rukia answered.

"Whatever."

They quickly finished up their baths, and got redressed. As they met back up at the entrance, Ichigo noticed Orihime was still wearing the clothes that she fell into the river with. "Hey, are those dry?"

"Yeah," Orihime replied. "I found a dryer in there that must have been used for the towels, so I put my clothes in there."

"All right," Ichigo said. "Where to next?"

"Well, that was enough for me," Rukia said. "I'm heading back to the hotel."

"Are you sure?" Ichigo asked.

"Yeah, I need to get some sleep. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Bye, Rukia," Orihime smiled, waving as Rukia walked away.

"I guess there's only one more stop before we should go home," Ichigo said.

"Where's that?"

"Don't you remember? You wanted to go to that ramen store."

"Oh yeah," Orihime giggled. "Ichiraku! I'm so happy that you remembered!"

They began walking once again into the night. The streets were illuminated with lights on various stores and houses. Even though it was becoming later and later, many people still inhabited the streets.

As they passed a particular restaurant, Ichigo could hear a sharp yell from inside, "You idiot!" It was a harsh, female voice. "You're going to choke if you don't stop! Do you want to go to the hospital again?"

"It's okay Ino," another voice said. This one was a man's, close to Ichigo's age by the sound of it. "Let him learn his lesson."

"But he didn't the last time!"

Ichigo and Orihime tried not to eavesdrop, so they walked on by. They eventually reached the familiar glow of the Ichiraku Ramen Shop. "Here it is!" Orihime exclaimed.

They stepped inside. It was a very small shop, with a single bar dividing the kitchen from the seats. Each seat was a stool set up at the bar.

A kind faced old man greeted them gleefully. "What can I get you two?" He smiled as he flipped some noodles. The smell of spices and soup filled the air.

"What kind do you have?" Orihime asked sweetly.

"Well," the old man replied. "we have a lot of different kinds. There's shrimp, barbeque pork, miso, you name it!"

"I want some miso ramen, please!"

"And you?" he asked Ichigo.

"I'll have some barbeque pork, I guess, thanks."

Smiling, the old man replied, "you know, that was my best customer's favorite. You remind me a lot of him. Same hair style and attitude." He chuckled. "Not as enthusiastic about my ramen though."

"Yeah, Iruka said that someone used to come here a lot."

"Did he now?" the old man replied as he began mixing new broth. "I wonder how that kid's doing. It's been almost two years since he left. He's probably going to come back with some new jutsu. Crazy kid." His thoughts seemed to drift off and faded away.

The old man poured in some onions, and various other ingredients. Within a few minutes, a steaming bowl was put in front of Orihime. "Here you go, miss. This is my miso ramen!"

Smiling, Orihime replied, "Thank you very much!" She inhaled deeply. "It smells so good! And it looks delicious!" She pulled apart her wooden chopsticks, and dived into her dinner.

Shortly afterwards, another bowl was placed in front of Ichigo. "And here," said the old man. "Is my specialty, barbeque pork ramen!"

They both ate and talked, enjoying themselves. After a few minutes, Orihime had finished her meal.

"How'd you like it?" the old man asked.

"It was very delicious, thank you," Orihime replied, taking a deep breath.

"So what are you doing here? You two out on a date?" The old man grinned.

"No," Ichigo replied. "We're just friends."

"Of course you are," the old man said, his grin growing larger. "That's what that kid said too."

_I wonder who this kid is. _Ichigo wondered. "Well, thanks for the meal. It was really good." He reached into his pocket in his chest, and took out a small roll of bills that Iruka had given him earlier that day. "This should cover it, right?"

The old man counted the money. "This is enough." He smiled again. "You're buying this pretty young lady dinner, and you're not out on a date?"

"I don't need this," Ichigo said, walking out.

"Thanks again," Orihime said, walking out after Ichigo.

"They're a nice couple," the old man grinned. "Even if they are just friends. But that Ichigo needs someone with a different personality to balance him out. Who's that girl who used to beat on the crazy kid? This is going to bother me. Oh, well, I'll remember one of these days."

Ichigo and Orihime returned to their hotel rooms. In the lobby Orihime said, "Thanks for tonight, Ichigo."

"It was nothing, Orihime," Ichigo replied. "I'm going to go check on Chad."

"I'd like to too."

"Okay then."

They ascended the stairs, and knocked on Chad's door. After a short moment, Uryu opened the door.

"What do you want, Ichigo?" he asked.

"Nice greeting," Ichigo replied. "We want to see how Chad's doing." Uryu stepped to the side, allowing them inside.

"He's just resting now, but I'm sure you want to see for yourself," Uryu replied.

They walked over to the bed which had Chad laying on top of it. He was breathing normally, his wound completely healed.

Ichigo took a deep breath. "See," he began. "I knew he wouldn't get killed so easily. His body's made of freaking steel or something."

"So are you going to bed now?" Uryu asked.

"I suppose," Ichigo answered. "It is getting late, so I guess there's no other choice." He began to walk out of the room. Orihime followed.

"Good night, Orihime," Uryu said. "I'll see you in the morning, Ichigo."

"He's so friendly," Orihime replied once Uryu closed the door behind them.

"Maybe to you," Ichigo replied. "Anyway, I'll talk to you later, Orihime. Have a good night."

Smiling, Orihime nodded. "Good night, Ichigo." She walked down the stairs, as Ichigo opened the door to his own room.

"You were gone for a while," Renji remarked, sitting up in his bed, with the T.V. on.

"What were you doing?" Ichigo asked.

"I checked out that Ichiraku shop, and went to the hot springs." Renji replied. "Did you know that they don't allow mixed bathing?"

Grunting, Ichigo replied, "Trust me, I know."

Renji flicked off the T.V. "Well, I'm off to bed."

"I'm not far behind you," Ichigo replied, as he climbed into bed and turned off the lamp next to his bed. They both fell asleep quickly.


	4. Chapter 4: Hokage's Mansion

**Chapter IV**

**Hokage's Mansion**

A ray of light shone brightly the next day, illuminating the room. Rubbing his eyes, Ichigo woke up, and got out of bed. His muscles felt full of energy and life, like he could do anything. Renji was sitting up in his bed, flicking through the T.V., which was on a loud volume.

"So," Renji said. "You're finally awake?" He finally found a decent channel, so he placed the remote in front of him.

Walking to the bathroom, Ichigo replied, "Yeah. You've been up for a while?"

Renji nodded. "We're all waiting for you."

"Waiting?" Ichigo glanced at the clock. It said 11:56 am. "Crap! We overslept!"

"We?" Renji said. "Everyone else has been up since seven! It's your fault!"

"Well, why didn't you wake me up?" Ichigo exclaimed as he turned on the water to brush his teeth.

"I did," argued Renji, turning his head to reveal a dark bruise on his cheek. "Then you hit me in your sleep, you amateur!"

Ichigo spit out the water in his mouth, and threw away the disposable toothbrush. He walked out of the bathroom, slipping on his Shihakushô. "Where is everyone?" he asked, tying his white cloth belt.

"I don't know," Renji replied. "In the lobby, I guess." He opened the door, flicking off the T.V. "That's where I'm going now. I'll meet you there."

"All right," Ichigo replied, as Renji closed the door behind him. Ichigo quickly finished getting ready and left the room.

He arrived in the lobby to find Renji, Chad, Orihime, and Uryû waiting for him. They all had their packs and were ready to leave. The sun shone brightly in the room, causing a beautiful yellow glow to illuminate the room. Ichigo walked over to Chad, smiling. "So how are you feeling?" he asked.

"I'm fine now, thanks," Chad replied, holding his supply bag in his hands. He had a small bandage above his eyebrow where he hit the ground. "Orihime fixed me up pretty good. Thanks to her I didn't lose a lot of blood."

Blushing, Orihime replied, "It was nothing. I did what anyone would have done." She paused. "Besides, even if I didn't heal you, you probably would have lived anyway."

"No," Ichigo remarked. "You saved his life, Orihime." This just caused her to blush brighter as she turned away to hide her face.

"I'm personally glad that you're better," Renji retorted. "Now we don't have to carry your heavy ass."

"I'm sorry I was such a burden," Chad apologized, with no emotion in his voice.

"Relax, Chad," Ichigo said. "He was only kidding." He looked around the room. Only a few people were around the hotel. "Wait, where's Rukia?"

No one answered. After a short pause, Uryû said, "She's still in her room."

"Still?" Ichigo wondered.

"Well," Uryû chuckled nervously. "She wasn't feeling quite herself last night."

Interested, Ichigo asked, "What does that mean?"

"She went into a store to get something to eat. She asked me to join her last night before you met up with her later that night. So I said I'd go, just to keep her company. Orihime was with you." Uryû sighed. "But at the store she ordered some weird drink. I forget what's it was called, but when I asked the waiter why Rukia started acting so weird, he asked me 'how much did she drink?' He told me there was sake in it."

"Ichigo gulped. "So she was kind of tipsy last night?"

Orihime shook her head. "No," she disagreed. "She was actually pretty drunk."

Ichigo sighed. "That explains a lot. But to be honest, I really couldn't imagine Rukia wasted."

"She didn't know it had alcohol in it," Orihime replied in Rukia's defense.

Ichigo began to walk up the stairs. "I'll go get her then. We're running late as it is." He ascended the stairs and knocked on Rukia's room door. He waited, but there was no answer. "At this rate we won't make it to Silent Hill today."

A longer pause drifted by. Ichigo started to get impatient. "Rukia," he called out. Still no answer. He turned the knob and was shocked to find it open. Ichigo pushed open the door and stepped inside. He saw that one bed was very neat, and the other was pretty messy, with one pillow on the floor, and the covers were strewn across the bed.

Ichigo walked to the center of the room. "Damn, where is she?"

The bed moved. Ichigo, startled, glanced at the bed to find Rukia sleeping, holding a pillow over her head. "Uh, Rukia?" He moved to her side and nudged at her.

She sat up in a flash and yelled angrily, "What do you want? Can't you see I'm trying to get rid of this damn pounding in my head?"

Taken aback, Ichigo replied, "Yeah, well, we're ready to go. What are you doing? Nursing a hangover?"

Staring blankly, Rukia asked, "What's a hangover?"

Smirking, Ichigo replied, "Never mind. But seriously, let's go. We're all waiting in the lobby for you."

After some effort, Rukia slipped out of bed. She was wearing nothing but panties and a bra. She glared at her nearly naked body in shock, as Ichigo covered his eyes in haste. "What the hell happened last night?" She exclaimed, quickly covering herself up. "I always sleep in pajamas!"

Ichigo hustled out of the room, saying, "I don't know, and I didn't see anything! But hurry up!" He opened his eyes only after he shut the door behind him.

Ichigo began to think as he walked down the stairs. "I guess I should avoid these long trips with Rukia. Or at least I should monitor what she eats."

The group waited a few minutes before Rukia descended the stairs as well, joining the rest of the group in the lobby.

While waiting for Uryû to finish the check out process, Ichigo glanced around the room, noticing many strange pictures posted on the walls. Most wore the same type of uniform as Iruka. Each painting depicted a ninja like character, all had a stern face, with a lot of pride. Under each picture was a caption explaining who the man or woman was and what they did special for the village. One painting stood out from the rest. Instead of a stern faced warrior, it was a painting of a cheerful, blonde haired individual. He wore a large grin on his face, and he seemed to have a powerful aura around him. One of those that made you feel safe. Under his picture, the caption said:

The Fourth Hokage

May he live on in our spirits as the strongest Shinobi ever. His good deeds will never be forgotten as the one who saved the village from the Nine Tailed Demon Fox

Ichigo forgot about the painting once the group left the lobby. Once outside, Ichigo felt refreshed. The sun shone brightly on the houses below. Many people hustled about, eager to get to their destinations. The sky was blue with a promising shine to it.

As they walked, they conversed about their adventures the night before. Rukia had little to offer for talk, and she began to wonder why she couldn't remember what had happened the night before.

They quickly reached the gates of the village. Orihime then asked, "Shouldn't we say goodbye to Iruka and Asuma?"

Uryû thought for a moment. "I guess you're right, Orihime."

I guard at the gates perked his head up in interest. He began to walk towards the group. "Oh, so you're the group that Iruka brought back yesterday?"

They stared back. Ichigo spoke up, "Yeah."

The guard smiled. "Excellent. We were ordered to find you, and we figured that you'd stop by the gates eventually."

"Why is that?" Chad asked.

"Our Hokage would like to have a word with you," he replied.

Ichigo asked, "Hokage? I've heard that before. Recently. What is that?"

"The Hokage," the guard replied. "Is the leader of our village. They make all the decisions of our village."

Curious, Uryû asked, "What does the leader, what did you call it, Hokage? What does the Hokage want with us?"

"We should just go," Ichigo said.

"We can lead you," said the guard.

"Okay," replied Ichigo.

The guard led the group throughout the village. They passed many shops and building along the way. One in particular caught Orihime's attention. "Oh I wish I would have noticed that shop so we could have gone there last night, Ichigo."

It was a quaint little store, with a headboard above it that held the title, 'Yaminaka Flower Shop'.

"Yeah, well," Ichigo replied. "Flowers aren't exactly my thing, Orihime." He shrugged off the idea of walking into a flower shop.

As they passed, they noticed a wide variety of flowers located in the front of the shop. Pink, blue, red, and many other colored flowers were on display. A heavenly aroma filled the air. They walked passed it however.

After a few minutes walking, the group arrived at a very large building. It wasn't very wide, but it was extremely tall.

"Here it is," said the guard. You already have permission to step in. Just say your name is Rukia Kuchiki."

Rukia looked up. "Why me?"

Smirking, the guard replied, "Well, we know you the best. Most people would know that you're part of this group."

Confused, Rukia asked, "But why?"

Chuckling, the guard replied, "Well, let's just say you made a name for yourself."

Still confused, Rukia just walked past him and stepped inside, along with the rest of the group.

The ascended the stairs which were quite obvious. A sign in the entrance said the Hokage's room was on the top level. So that's where they went. The stairs were exhausting, with many, many floors before they reached the top. After much effort, the eventually did get to the top level.

They met two more guards protecting the door. "Can we help you?" They asked.

Blushing, Rukia averted their gaze and replied, "My name is," she paused. The guards leaned closer, barely interested. She continued after a deep breath. "My name is Rukia Kuchiki."

The one guard opened his eyes wide. "Oh yeah! It is you!"

The other guard asked, "Who's that? I never heard of her."

Laughing, the first guard replied, "She's this traveler who got pretty drunk last night and started acting really funny."

"Oh, did she take of her shirt or something?"

"No, she was just drunk."

"That's not funny."

Rukia was blushing in pure embarrassment. Ichigo and the others were trying to hold back laughing in her face.

"Anyway," the guard began. "The Hokage did say that she wanted to see you, so I suppose I should let you in." Before he opened the doors he said, "But I must ask that you call her Lady Tsunade. It's just a respect thing."

The group agreed, as the guard opened the door. The Hokage's room was a small round room, with only a single desk in the center. The whole outside half of the circle was three giant windows, revealing an amazing view of the village. A young looking blonde haired woman sat at the desk. Piles of papers and books were stacked it, nearly covering the woman. Her hair was tied into two pig tails, which were tied down, instead of the traditional up.

A black haired woman was standing next to the Hokage. She was watching the group as it entered. The Hokage sat up and folded her arms. "I didn't send for any food. What are you doing here?"

Rukia spoke up. "We're the group of travelers that was brought in by Iruka and Asuma."

Immediately changing her tone of voice, the Hokage said, "Oh I see. Welcome to the Leaf Village. I am the fifth Hokage, Tsunade." She looked over her right shoulder. "This is my assistant, Shizune."

"It's good to meet you," Uryû began, but what exactly did you summon us for? Surely the Hokage doesn't meet with every group of travelers that comes by?"

"Try to watch what you say," growled Shizune.

"It's fine," Tsunade replied. "Well, no I don't, to answer your question. But I got a very interesting report from Asuma. About some very strange powers that were used by some of you." She glanced at Orihime, then to Chad. Then she spoke, "So I'm just curious, where are you traveling to?"

Rukia explained their mission to Silent Hill. Tsunade listened intently. Once Rukia had finished her explanation, Tsunade replied, "I see. Unfortunately, I never heard of that place. But you say there's been a weird energy emitting from this town?"

"Yes, ma'am," Rukia replied.

"And is there any inhabitants?"

Solemnly, Rukia answered, "Actually, our sensors can't pick anything up at all. Like the town doesn't exist. But it's just a hole in the world. And that can't be, obviously."

"I have an idea as to what might be happening," Tsunade began, looking more serious now.

"Any information would help," Renji said.

"Well, our village in preparing for an attack from an unfathomable enemy. His name is Orochimaru," Tsunade explained. "He's been known to exploit entire towns, leaving absolutely nothing behind. Not even one survivor."

"Why?" Ichigo asked. "What's the point in that?"

"He experiments on the villagers."

The group all tried to soak in this disturbing information. "How does he do that?" Chad asked.

"We're not entirely sure," Tsunade replied. "By the way, I realized the only one I know here is Rukia Kuchiki. What are the names of the rest of you?"

The group introduced themselves individually. After the proper introductions, Tsunade considered these names. Then she spoke, "Orihime Inoue and Yasutora Sado? So a princess and a tiger, huh? Those are some pretty impressive names."

The two of them simply stared at Tsunade, not sure what else to do. Then the Hokage spoke again. "So I've made up my mind. The Leaf Village is going to help you."

The group stared at Tsunade in disbelief. Ichigo asked, "But why, Tsunade? Why do you have any reason to help us?"

Sighing, Tsunade explained, "I've already said it. The reason is quite simple. These patterns have been seen with Orochimaru. He's a major enemy of the Leaf Village, so we would have sent ninja there anyway. You just saved us the trouble of finding the town ourselves."

"I suppose we can't say no to your offer," Uryû said. "Thank you very much, Lady Tsunade." He bowed in respect.

"Unfortunately," Tsunade said. "We don't have many Shinobi to spare, so we'll send who we can. Since we don't know if this is Orochimaru's behind this, we don't actually know the level of danger. So we won't send any Jonin. I suppose a few Genin should be all right."

Confused, Ichigo asked, "What's Genin and Jonin?"

Tsunade explained, slightly irritated. "Those are the levels of ninja. I heard you weren't from around here, but still. Have you been living under a rock?"

"No, ma'am," Orihime replied. "Karakura town."

"Don't bother," Ichigo said.

"Anyway," Tsunade continued. "Jonin is an elite ninja. Genin are those who recently graduated from the academy. So they're inexperienced. Chunin are in between. Slightly more experienced, and much more powerful than Genin. Then there's the Anbu Black Ops. They reside above Jonin. The only level above Anbu is the Hokage. Of course, there are three ninja who are above the Hokage. They are called the Sannin."

"Only three?" Ichigo asked.

"Yes," Tsunade answered. "The Legendary Sannin consist of three Shinobi. I am one of the three."

Shocked, Ichigo replied, "But now you're Hokage. Is that a demotion?"

"Not necessarily. I am still a Sannin, but I am also the Hokage. So I have both titles."

"Impressive," Uryû replied.

"The other Sannin is a man named Jiraiya, who is currently away, training a particular Genin. The last Sannin is none other than Orochimaru."

"I see," Uryû said. "So I guess Orochimaru is somebody to be wary of."

"Absolutely," Tsunade replied. "Anyway, I have a team set up for you. It consists of three Chunin and two Genin." She paused. Although, I sent a request to Jiraiya to have his pupil return. He isn't due to come back, but if Orochimaru is behind this, which it seems at this point, then this kid will never let me live it down that I didn't send him along as well."

Tsunade handed Rukia a piece of paper. It had all the names of their new teammates, and their rank:

Kiba Inuzuka – Genin

Choji Akamichi – Genin

Neji Hyuga – Chunin

Sakura Haruno – Genin

Shikimaru Nara – Chunin

Tsunade let them read the paper. Then she said, "And the other Genin that might be joining you is named Naruto Uzumaki." She handed Rukia a picture of a blonde haired kid with spiky hair. He was grinning widely with a goofy smile. He was wearing an orange baggy shirt and pants with a blue stripe that went down the center, and then stretched from his chest to either shoulder. "Unfortunately, he's been training for the past year and a half, so we don't have a recent picture of him."

"This is fine," Uryû said. "Where will we meet with these other members?"

"They'll be waiting for you at the Leaf Village gates," Tsunade answered. "Although, Naruto might meet you later down the road. It depends whether or not he even got the message. A Legendary Sannin is not easy to make contact with."

"Naruto is a Sannin?" Orihime asked.

"No," Ichigo replied. "But he's with a Sannin. I forget his name."

"Jiraiya," Chad said.

"Right," Tsunade said. "In any case, we'll consider this a C rank mission for now. We don't have many ninja to spare right now, so like I said; we can't afford to send along any Jonin. And the group I sent with you has the best chance of survival, due to their previous interactions."

A knock came on the door behind them. Ichigo and his group turned to face the person entering through the doorway. I black haired kid came in. His hair was in the same style as Renji's, but with less hair. His eyes were lazy, and his hands were in his pockets.

"Huh?" Tsunade glanced at the boy.

"You sent for me, Lady Tsunade?" The boy said. He was probably a year or two younger than Ichigo.

"Excellent," Tsunade said. "Let me introduce you to one of the best leaders in the Hidden Leaf Village. This is Shikimaru Nara."

Smiling confidently, Ichigo outstretched his hand. "Good to meet you, Shikimaru."

After a sigh, Shikimaru returned Ichigo's handshake. "Man," he said lazily. "This is such a pain. You become a Chunin and everyone expects you to jump at every mission. What a drag."

"Excuse his attitude," Tsunade began. "He's actually one of the most intellectual ninja in our ranks. At the Chunin exams nearly three years ago, he was the only Genin to become Chunin out of nearly two hundred Shinobi."

"Impressive," Uryû said.

They noticed that Shikimaru's headband was tied to his arm rather than his forehead. He grabbed his shoulder, right above his headband and sighed again. "Man, I didn't even want to go out today."

Uryû turned to Tsunade. "Ma'am," he began. "I was just wondering, why send men you can't spare? Wouldn't it do better to keep them in the village to protect it?"

"The Leaf Village will protect everyone," Tsunade answered matter of factly. "It's as simple as that."

"What were the ranks of those men who ambushed us in the forest?" Rukia asked. "I'd like to get a feel for what a Chunin's abilities are."

"Iruka was Chunin," Tsunade answered. "And Asuma was Jonin." She paused. "We normally don't mix the two classes, but most of the Jonin are on other missions. The ones that remain in the village will be sent out on regular patrols. That kind of level is beneath them, but right now the amount of Chunin heavily outweighs the Jonin, so I have no choice but to send some Jonin. Our military is a little disorganized at the moment."

"I feel that I have to say," Uryû said. "That although this is truly generous of you, it seems that you really cannot afford it. Besides, it's best to operate in smaller teams. If our group gets too big, then we won't be able to function at full capacity. Not only that, but we have a whole other group joining us up ahead."

"That is well thought out," Tsunade agreed. "However, you aren't exploring a cave or a building. This is an entire town. Although the journey there might have too many people, once you get to Silent Hill, then the more people you have, the better."

Shrugging, Uryû replied, "That makes sense, Lady Tsunade."

"So," Shikimaru began. "These are the guys we're supposed to protect?"

"No," Tsunade announced. "These will be your new teammates, yes, but your mission is not to protect them. It's to scout out this Silent Hill. You have been informed that Orochimaru could be behind this. That's why I trusted mostly Chunin to this mission."

"Is that all?" Ichigo asked. "We can go now, right?"

"Impatient," Tsunade said. "You remind me of Naruto."

Shikimaru's ears perked up. "That's right! I heard he's coming with us! Is that true?"

Sighing, Tsunade replied, "I sent a message to Jiraiya. It depends on them. They could be close and will come anyway, or they could be really far away and won't bother. I have no idea."

"I see," Shikimaru said. "In that case, I suppose we should get going. The others will have gathered at the gates by now. Knowing some of them, they're probably getting impatient, like this guy." He pointed to Ichigo, who wasn't paying attention.

"Yes," Tsunade agreed. "You should be off now. Good luck."

"Thanks again, Tsunade," Ichigo said. They walked out of the Hokage's room and regrouped in the hallway. Then they proceeded down the large flight of stairs.

Uryû spoke to Ichigo, "By the way, I noticed you kept calling her Tsunade. Didn't the guards ask us to address her formally? They asked us to call her Lady Tsunade."

Ichigo simply shrugged. "She didn't seem too bothered by it.

They left the mansion, the sun now high in the sky. The heat began to shimmer down to the Earth. Shikimaru began to lead the group throughout the city. The whole time he kept his hands in his pockets as he walked with a swagger and lazy way. He occasionally stared into the sky as he walked, apparently staring at the clouds. In no time at all, Shikimaru successfully led them to the gates, where a small group of kids waited for them. They all seemed Shikimaru's age, with the exception of one or two who looked a year older.

The first to introduce themselves was a boy with elongated canine teeth and finger nails. He wore a grey fur jacket and had a dog beside him. It had silver fur, and did not seem fully grown, yet had long since outgrown his puppy phases. His eyes were narrow and he had red markings on either side of his face. He grinned as he stepped forward, saying, "Hey. My name is Kiba Inuzuka." Ichigo shook his hand. "And this," he continued, nodding to his dog. "is Akimaru."

After Kiba shook hands with the rest of the group, a pink haired girl began to introduce herself. She had hazel eyes and, despite her cute face, seemed quite experienced in battle. "I'm Sakura Haruno."

Gasping, Orihime exclaimed, "Oh, I remember you! I saw you down by the river last night."

After a pause, Sakura replied, "That's right. You fell in." She smiled at the thought.

Sakura was wearing a red dress that split at the bottom, with a white outline. She had dark green, tight shorts and a white circle was painted on her dress.

A crunching sound came from the back of the group. A rather round boy with a chubby face appeared from the back. He had his headband in his hair, parting it in two directions. He had red spirals painted on either side of his cheeks. He was snacking on some potato chips. "I'm," he began, pausing to wolf down a few more chips. "Choji Akamichi."

Renji made a face. "Akamunchi is more like it."

Choji's face twisted in anger. "What was that?"

"I'm just saying, you're a little fat to be a ninja don't you think?"

Growling, Choji remarked, "I'm not fat! I'm just a little chubby! There's a difference!"

Smirking, Renji replied, "Sure there is."

"Enough of this foolishness," said a voice. The voice belonged to one of the older ninja. This ninja had no pupil in his light purple eyes. His long brown hair was tied at the bottom. He wore a light grey jacket with dark brown shorts. "Let us continue the introductions. I am Neji Hyuga. I am one of the more experienced Chunin here."

"So," Ichigo began. "Which one is Chunin again?"

"Is this guy for real?" Sakura asked.

"Chunin," Rukia answered. "Is after Genin."

"Anyway," Shikimaru began. "You know me. I'm Shikimaru Nara." He explained anyway, as Ichigo stared off into the distance, and Renji was picking at his fingernails. Shikimaru suppressed his anger with a sigh. "As I was saying, we need to know who you are, and your abilities so we can coordinate appropriate strategies."

"Well," Rukia began. "I'm Rukia Kuchiki, and I'm a Soul Reaper." She paused to take out a sketch pad with chibi like drawings of rabbits. "Which means I use my Zanpaku-tô to cleanse evil spirits, and to send the good spirits to the Soul Society."

"Wow," Kiba said. "You just said a lot of things I don't understand. You mind explaining a bit?"

"Well," Rukia flipped the page in her sketchbook, revealing more drawings. "a Soul Reaper is basically the Grim Reaper in your world. And the Soul Society is Heaven."

Staring blankly, Sakura replied, "Wait, so you're ghosts?"

"We've been called that before," Rukia said, smiling.

The rest of Ichigo's group introduced themselves, explaining their powers and abilities. Once it became Uryû's turn, he began by saying his name. "I'm Uryû Ishida. I am a Quincy."

"What the hell is that?" Neji asked.

"I can use powers like a Soul Reaper, but I'm not a Soul Reaper. Also, they use spirit energy from within; a Quincy uses them from without."

"But," Ichigo butted in. "He hasn't regained his powers, so he's pretty much useless."

Uryû's face twisted in frustration. "Shut up, Ichigo! At least I'm smarter! I can make the strategies. And besides, no one said I couldn't fight!"

"Well, this is all well and good," Kiba remarked. "But what kind of jutsu do you use?"

"What the hell is jutsu?" Ichigo asked. "I've heard that term before."

"What do you mean, what's jutsu?" Neji asked. "Are you an idiot?"

"Watch yourself, you weird eyed freak!"

"A jutsu," Sakura explained. "Is the release of Chakra through hand signs. Why don't you know that?"

"What's catra?" Ichigo asked.

"Chakra," Sakura corrected. "Is energy. It flows through all our bodies."

"It seems that there's a lot about each other that we don't know," Neji said. "We can learn along the way. We know the basics, and that's all we need to start. We're late as it is."

"He's right," Shikimaru agreed. "Let's get going. But first you should probably tell us the mission that you are on so we know how to work together on our missions."

Rukia explained their reasons for going to Silent Hill, accompanied with her sketch pad. Once she was finished, she asked, "Are there any questions?"

"Here's one," Kiba began. "Why do you use that crummy little sketch pad to explain everything? They suck."

Ichigo turned away, knowing exactly what will happen next, from personal experience. Ichigo had his eyes closed for nearly ten seconds before he dared to look back. He saw that Kiba had his hood pulled over his head, and his dog, Akimaru was attempting to pull it back to its original position with his teeth.

"Crazy, little," Kiba began, his voice muffled by his hood. Once his hood was back over the back of his head, he took a deep breath of fresh air.

Once Kiba had repositioned his hood, he noticed that a small group had gathered by the gates. There was a girl wearing purple with a long, beautiful blonde ponytail, a boy with a black bowl cut hairstyle with very large eyebrows, dressed in green with yellow leg weights, a young girl with brown hair tied into two bobs, and a girl with eyes like Neji, and an awkward smile on her face.

Surprised, Shikimaru said, "Hey guys. What are you doing here?"

The boy with the bushy eyebrows stepped forward. "I am here because the Hokage has let me accompany you on your valiant mission!" He had an unnecessary loudness to his voice, with a strong amount of heroicness to go along with it. He walked up to Ichigo, standing perfectly straight. "I am Rock Lee, the handsome devil of the Leaf Village!"

Ichigo stared back with a weird face. "Okay. What the hell is the handsome devil?"

Smiling, Rock Lee's teeth glistened in the sun, shining brightly. With many extravagant motions, he replied, "I am the embodiment of youth! I let the power of the Leaf Village flow through my body! I fight for the protection of everyone! No one can resist the handsomeness within this body!"

Ichigo stared back, speechless. The girl with the bobs in her hair shrieked, "Oh, no! You got him started!"

"I know how to get him to stop," Ichigo said, punching Rock Lee across the face.

Rock Lee fell to the floor. As he got up, small amounts of blood dripped from his nose. "Wh-what was that for?" He stuttered, holding his nose.

"You were pissing me off, dancing around like an idiot," Ichigo replied.

Rock Lee got up, taking a slip of paper out of his pouch. He handed it to Ichigo. "This is my information card. The Hokage instructed me to give this to you."

Ichigo examined the card. It said:

Rock Lee-Chunin

"So," Ichigo began. "You're a Chunin? I thought that the Hokage couldn't afford any more ninja."

"Well," Rock Lee explained. "She sent me because I requested it. I asked her to send me. But I am curious, why are you and those other two dressed in robes? You look like part of the Akatsuki."

"Wait a minute," Ichigo began. "So you can all see us? Me, Rukia, and Renji, I mean."

Confused, Neji asked, "Of course we can. Why wouldn't we be able to?"

"Well," Rukia explained. "Like we mentioned before, we are spiritual beings, so most people can't see us. Only those with abnormal spiritual powers would be able to."

"But," Renji interrupted. "All the ninja in this village seem to have those abilities. I'm not sure why, but they have developed their powers to usable levels. We're obviously not random shapes, but fully visible objects."

"This is all so confusing," Sakura replied. "I say we stop the introductions. We can learn about each other along the way. But we're already running late."

"Yeah," Ichigo agreed. "Let's get going all ready. Are all of you coming with us?"

"No," said the girl with the ponytail. "We actually came to see you off." She was holding a flower. She walked up to Ichigo and put the flower in his hands. "I saw you last night, walking. I want you to have this flower. Come back alive, and maybe I'll let you take me out on a date." She giggled as she took a step backwards. Rukia glared at the girl with an intense fire in her eyes.

Ichigo accepted the flower, but was stunned. "Uh, thanks. Although, I don't even know who you are."

"It's polite to introduce yourself first," Neji informed.

"I'm Ichigo Kurosaki."

Smiling, the girl replied, "And I'm Ino Yaminaka. Nice to meet you." She returned to her group.

Ichigo leaned over to Shikimaru. "A little straight forward, isn't she?"

Shikimaru simply sighed. "Yeah, she's always been like that. Count yourself lucky, though. She was obsessed with another guy before. So you must be pretty hot to get Ino to forget about the other guy."

"So am I lucky, or unlucky?" Ichigo asked. "By the way, you called me hot. You're not," he paused, trying to phrase his words correctly. "You know what I mean."

Shikimaru just stared at Ichigo. "Of course not, you idiot. I said that Ino must think that way."

"Anyway," said the brown haired girl. "My name is Tenten. I'm on the same team as Neji and Rock Lee."

"We'll make the teams later," Uryû explained.

"No," Tenten replied. "I'm not going with you. I mean we share the same sensei."

"Oh," Uryû replied. He looked at the other girl. "And who are you?"

When she spoke, she had a very girly voice, and she hid behind Kiba. "I'm Hinata Hyuga."

"Hyuga?" Chad said. He glanced at Neji. "Are you two related?"

"Yes," Neji replied, folding his arms. "She is my cousin." He let his arms drop to his sides. "But this is enough. We must leave now."

"Oh," Hinata replied glumly. "I really wanted to go along, because I heard that Naruto-kun might be coming with you."

"Why do you care if Naruto is going?" Kiba asked, but Hinata blushed and retreated behind Kiba.

Ichigo just observed the scenery. _Man, _he thought. _All these ninja are so freaking weird. There's a dog, a bushy browed freak, and this chick is hiding like someone's going to kill her any minute or something._

"But," Uryû said. "Neji is right. We're getting distracted. Let's get going."

As they began to walk away, Ichigo could see Ino waving behind him. He let his shoulders hang and walked away. Rukia walked close to him, occasionally glaring at Ino. Ichigo didn't notice any of that.

The new, larger group began their walk down the dirt road, into the deep forest. They walked in a broken line. It wasn't a perfect single file line, but there was a certain formation to it. Ichigo, Rukia, Renji, and Kiba walked towards the front, while Choji, Sakura, and Orihime were in the back. Everyone else was right in the middle. They took step after step, towards their destination of Silent Hill, unknowing what lies before them

.

42


	5. Chapter 5: Arrival

Chapter V

**Chapter V**

**Arrival**

The group walked together, getting to know one another. The sun was high in the sky, blazing down immense heat on the world below. Luckily, the vast amount of trees blocked most of the heat in the shade. They traveled for many miles, until the Leaf Village was completely out of sight. Ichigo and his group felt full of energy, despite their long journey the day before. Their pace never slowed.

"Here's an idea," Neji said. If we're already running late, why don't we go by the treetops? If we travel like that, we'll triple or speed at least."

Stunned, Orihime asked, "Walk on treetops? How do we do that? Most of these trees don't even have branches to climb on."

"It's easy," Neji replied. "Just use your chakra to climb them. Focus all of it into your feet, and then concentrate it."

"Easier said than done," Ichigo remarked.

"Exactly," Neji agreed. "If you've never done it before, then learning to do it now will slow us down dramatically. So we're better off not teaching you, and continuing traveling by foot."

"So why'd you even bring it up?" Renji asked, irritated.

"Because," Neji replied. "I thought that you'd be able to something as simple as controlling your chakra. I didn't know you were so incompetent."

"Why you," Renji balled his hand into a fist. "You better watch it, you jerk, or I'll show you how incompetent you are compared to a soul reaper!"

"I'm sure," Neji replied.

"Besides," Ichigo butted in. "Me and the other two soul reapers should have no problem doing that. But it's Orihime, Chad, and Uryû that might have a problem."

"Nonsense!" Rock Lee announced. "It's all a state of mind! Let the power of youth explode!" He ran towards a tree. Once he ran into it, he began to climb it, using only his feet. He quickly reached the top. "Now you try, Orihime!"

Smiling, Orihime replied, "Okay! It's my turn!" She began to run, but Ichigo caught her around the waist before she could reach the tree.

"Don't try, Orihime. It's not a state of mind. Besides, this guy is really pissing me off."

"Well," Rock Lee retorted. "It is better to get pissed off, than pissed on!"

Shocked, Ichigo yelled, "Would you shut up? Get down here, before I come up there and kick your ass!"

Rock Lee jumped from the tree, landing safely on his feet. "You are a very rude person."

"Keep acting like an idiot and you'll find out how rude I can really be!"

"Squabbling amongst yourselves?" Neji said. "How childish."

"I'm sorry," Orihime said as Ichigo let her go.

"For what?" Ichigo asked.

"Well, if I was stronger, maybe I could climb the tree. I'm sorry for being such a burden."

Ichigo stared at her. "Orihime, you're not a burden. You probably saved Chad's life yesterday."

Renji chuckled. "Don't feel bad, Orihime. Ichigo still can't even control his spiritual pressure yet."

"Be quiet!" Ichigo snapped.

Shikamaru said, "Would everyone be quiet? You're ruining the peace of the forest." He paused. "Uryû, you said that there was another group joining us up ahead?"

"That's what we were told by Rukia."

Shikamaru glanced over at Rukia, who said, "Well, I don't know much about that. Actually, Renji is from that group."

"Yeah," Renji said. "But I don't know where they are now. Actually, we already passed the point where I split up from them. It has been over day, so knowing the people in that group, they probably got impatient and went on ahead."

"I had a question," Ichigo said. "How did you guys get such powers? You're like, what, twelve years old?"

"Actually," Shikamaru replied. "We're fourteen, except for Neji, Rock Lee, and Sakura. Neji and Rock Lee are fifteen, and Sakura is thirteen."

"But," Sakura said. "My birthday is only a week away, so I'll be fourteen soon enough."

"We're trained from a very early age," Kiba said. "So we had time to practice."

"All this talking is making me hungry," Choji announced. "Does anyone have any food on them?"

"Just don't ask Uryû," Ichigo remarked. "He wouldn't give me any when I asked him."

"That's because you're a spirit being, Ichigo! You don't need food!" Uryû replied. "Stop playing the victim!"

"That's fair," Neji said.

"Who asked you?" Ichigo snapped.

"But," Choji began. "He's got food on him then?"

"Yes," Uryû replied. He reached into the back pack and pulled out a sandwich, handing it to Choji.

"All right!" Choji yelled. "There's beef in here!" In a matter of seconds, he wolfed down the sandwich. Not too long later, he began to rub his stomach and complain. "Is there any more?"

"What happened to your food?" Shikamaru asked. "I thought you brought your own."

Choji pulled out an empty bag of potato chips. "I already ate them." He let the bag drop to the floor as they walked on.

"I have some chips," Orihime replied. "I bought them at the market before we left. I was saving them, but if you're that hungry, you can"

Before she could finish her sentence, Choji yelled, "You have chips? Give them to me!" He snatched them from Orihime's hands as she stared in surprise.

As Choji stuffed his face, multiple chips at a time, Orihime walked up to Sakura. She spoke with a friendly tone. "Did you dye your hair?"

Sakura looked back, a little surprised. "What?"

"It looks really pretty."

"Well, thanks, but I didn't dye it. This is my hair's natural color. Why do you ask?"

"Well," Orihime smiled. "It's pink."

"So?"

"You just don't see pink hair that often," Orihime replied.

"Yeah, well, look at him," Sakura replied, pointing to Ichigo. "Orange isn't exactly common either."

Towards the front of the line, Kiba was conversing with Renji. "So," Kiba said. "Why all the tattoos?"

"Well," Renji replied. "It's hard to explain. It's like a status thing. Like honor."

"I don't get it."

"I didn't expect you to," Renji replied. "But what's with the dog? You seem to be very friendly with dogs. I also mean that you seem to resemble one."

"It runs in my family, the Inuzuka clan," Kiba said. "I have the nose and ears of a dog." Once Renji stared to examine Kiba's nose and ears, Kiba snapped, "I meant I have the hearing and smelling capacity of a dog! I don't actually have a dog's nose and ears!"

Stunned, Renji replied, "Oh."

Kiba took Akamaru from his head. "Okay, boy. You're getting a bit too big to be on my head all day. Why don't you walk for a while?"

Akamaru barked in agreement as he was put down.

"So what was your training like?" Renji asked.

"Well, we started from an early age. It was like an academy to start. Then you eventually graduate that. Then you become Genin. I was put on a squad with Hinata and Shino Aburame. You met Hinata, but Shino wasn't there."

"Why not?"

"He isn't the most social, we'll say. Anyway, after a year, we took the Chunin exams."

"What?" Renji asked. "Exams? I thought you just get promoted."

"You have to take the exams first. Not everyone can become Chunin. Well, I passed the first and second tests."

"How many are there?"

"Three," replied Kiba. "I failed the third. It was a preliminary round. All I had to do was beat my opponent, but I lost."

"That sucks," Renji acknowledged. "Who was your opponent?"

"Naruto Uzumaki."

After a pause, Kiba asked, "By the way, who's that chick?"

Looking at the girl that Kiba was pointing to, Renji asked, "Who? Orihime?"

"That's her name? I didn't pay attention during the introductions."

"Yeah, her name is Orihime Inoue. But why do you want to know so much?" Renji asked.

Staring back at Renji, Kiba replied, "That's a stupid question. Because she's hot that's why!"

From the back of the group, Choji complained, "Come on, guys! Can't we take a break? I need food!"

"Hey," Ichigo replied. "No one else has eaten anything since this morning. You've had a lot of food already. We need to save some for later; this is all we have until we get back from Silent Hill."

"But I need to eat now!" Choji responded.

"You'll have to wait!" Rukia snapped.

"Give me food!"

Rukia stopped moving and turned to face Choji. "Listen, you annoying piece of flesh!" Choji stayed quiet. "You've done nothing but complain since we left the village! You can't eat all of our food. If you've already eaten your own food, then shut the hell up and let your body feed off of your girth!"

The whole group remained quiet. Choji simply stared at Rukia, as she turned away, satisfied.

Shikamaru could only say, "Holy crap."

They walked for a long time, talking and laughing. Each person quickly learned about one another, more than just abilities and names. As they drifted farther and farther away from the Leaf Village, the clouds in the sky slowly drew together. Fewer travelers were seen along the road now. There was close to none at this point. The sun became covered up in a blanket of clouds.

"Man," Renji said, putting his hands on his waist as he walked. "It's getting pretty cold out."

A slight mist began to cover the ground. Soon, it became hard to even see all the way down the road. Kiba stopped and sniffed the air. "Something's not right," he said.

"What the hell are you doing?" Ichigo asked. "Are you a blood hound?"

"Close enough," Kiba replied. Akamaru tried to slip into Kiba's jacket, but Kiba grabbed him. "Sorry, boy, but you're too big to do that now." He set Akamaru back onto the ground.

As they walked, they noticed a traveler down the road, but he wasn't walking. He wore dark clothing, but it was too thick to really see any specifics.

They approached the man, but as they drew closer, the Leaf Shinobi seemed to grow more and more fear into their eyes. The group from Karakura town simply looked on with interest.

Once the man was fully visible, he could be seen wearing a black robe with red clouds painted on them. His black hair fell into his face with many bangs. He had a long ponytail tied in the back. His collar was so large, that it covered up his mouth.

"Who is this?" Ichigo asked.

"That," Sakura answered with extreme hate in her voice. "Is Itachi Uchiha. He's a member of the Akatsuki. They're a group of outlaw ninja whose danger levels exceed any other organization at the moment."

Ichigo noticed his headband had the Leaf Village symbol, with a slash through it. "So he's an enemy?"

"Definitely," Neji replied.

Ichigo drew his sword. The others were in awe of its size. "Then I'm going to rip this guy apart!" Ichigo smiled confidently.

"You think you can?" Itachi replied.

"Why are you even here?" Sakura screamed.

"Because," Itachi said. When he spoke, he had a very nonchalant tone to his voice. "I knew you would be coming this way. I thought I would amuse myself a bit."

"Is this amusing?" Ichigo yelled as he lifted his sword high into the air. As he brought it down, he yelled, "Getsuga Tenshô!" A blue burst of light exploded from Ichigo's sword. It ripped through the ground as it went straight for Itachi.

Itachi lifted his hand slowly. Once the attack hit him, Itachi brushed it away with the slightest effort.

Ichigo charged, yelling. Itachi closed his eyes. "You remind me of someone," he said. Once he reopened his eyes, they turned red, with a black pupil and three dots around the pupil.

Suddenly, Ichigo found himself on a highway. It was cold and raining. He could see a little boy in a yellow raincoat holding his mother's hand. A car drove by, splashing the boy with water. He coughed and spluttered.

"Oh, that mean car," the mother said. "Let me walk on this side."

Ichigo's eyes opened wide. "No," he said with fear filling his voice.

"No, mommy," the boy replied. "I'm supposed to protect you from stuff like that." But the mother laughed and switched sides with the boy anyway.

The boy walked for a moment, until he glanced over by the river. He noticed a young girl looking into it. "Is she going to jump?" wondered the boy. "I have to save her!" He jumped over the railing, running towards the girl. The mother screamed, "No, Ichigo! Come back!"

"Wait here, mommy!"

"This can't be," Ichigo said, watching the boy charge towards the river. The mother chased after her son. "No!" Ichigo screamed for along time into the air, closing his eyes.

When he reopened his eyes, Ichigo found himself lying on the ground. Except it wasn't him, now he was the boy. His mother's bleeding corpse was lying on top of him. "M-mother?" Ichigo stuttered, gazing in fear at the body. The girl was nowhere to be seen. "This can't be. Not again." He screamed into the air again. Once he was done, he saw a figure in the distance. It walked up to Ichigo. It was Itachi, glaring at Ichigo.

Ichigo growled as he got up. "How dare you defile my mother's memory like this?" He gritted his teeth.

"It's your fault," Itachi replied coolly. "You failed to avenge her."

Ichigo's eyes went wide as everything turned black. When shapes returned to his vision, he saw that he was in a clearing in a forest. A huge hollow was in front of him. It had glaring red eyes, and a fury, fat body. It walked on all fours. Ichigo had a large sword in his hand. It was an oversized katana. It was dug deep into the hollow. Blood poured everywhere, staining the grass a dark red.

The hollow ripped the sword out of his shoulder. "I'll get you for this one day, you soul reaper bastard!" It jumped high into the air, and fled.

"Dammit it all!" Ichigo yelled. "Why are you doing this?"

Itachi appeared once again beside Ichigo. "Have you had enough?" Everything turned black again. Once Ichigo regained consciousness, he was lying on the ground, right before he charged at Itachi.

Rukia ran up to him. "Ichigo! What happened? You were running at him, and then you just fell over! Are you okay?"

Ichigo gasped for breath as he got up. "Damn, what was that?"

"It was Sharingan," Neji explained. "It's a visual Jutsu that allows you to copy an enemy's attack, and see what they're going to do next. But," he paused. "I believe that Itachi Uchiha's Sharingan has developed to higher levels. I think he can cause illusions and serious mental damage."

Ichigo glared at Itachi, huffing, completely out of breath. He smirked confidently. "Then all I have to do is avoid his eyes, right?"

"Basically," Neji answered.

Ichigo charged again, this time looking at Itachi's torso. "Come on!" he yelled, leaping into the air. He brought his blade down hard, but Itachi nimbly dodged.

Itachi swung his hand backwards, landing a hard hit on Ichigo's face. Ichigo was thrown backwards, landing on his back. "You don't have enough strength," Itachi taunted. He knelt down beside Ichigo and whispered in his ear, "And you know what? You never will."

Ichigo's face twisted in rage. "Shut up!" Ichigo thrust his sword horizontally, but Itachi dodged again by jumping into the air, landing a few feet from Ichigo. Ichigo brought his sword out to his side, and then pointed it straight at Itachi, holding it with both hands. A powerful blue aura began to glow around him.

Rukia took a step forward. She screamed, "Ichigo! You can't release your Bankai here! It's too dangerous!"

Ichigo ignored her as he continued to glare at Itachi. "Get ready," he said. "Because this is the last fight you'll ever be in!" He paused, summoning all his strength. "Ban"

But before he could finish, a large explosion erupted from behind Ichigo, causing him to lose concentration. His aura faded, and he stared at the smoke filled area. He let his sword hang by his side as he tried to make out what was behind the smoke.

Everyone just stared at the area as the smoke slowly dissipated. A shaded figure slowly emerged from the smoke. Once it came through, it was visible as a boy. This boy had spiky blonde hair going in all directions, and he wore a goofy smile as he stood, his arms folded. His blue eyes sparkled brightly. "This is my kind of mission!" he said, excitedly. "I just got here and there's already a huge fight!" He had three scars on each side of his cheeks, resembling whiskers. He wore an orange jumpsuit with black sleeves, and a black line in the middle. He had a Leaf headband, except the laces were extra long. He had the same red spirals that Iruka had on his shoulders.

Sakura's face lit up. "Naruto!" she exclaimed.

Ichigo stared at the boy. He looked a lot older than in the picture that Tsunade had given him. _So this is Naruto Uzumaki,_ he thought, impressed.

The smoke had fully dissipated now. "Now," Naruto began. "I'm going to kick this guy's butt!"

"Be careful," Ichigo warned. He uses this weird power."

"The Sharingan," Naruto finished Ichigo's sentence. "I know. But that's not going to take me down!" He pointed to Itachi. "Get ready to get the snot beaten out of you! Itachi Uchiha!" He charged, yelling a war cry.

Itachi simply stared at Naruto. Itachi disappeared once Naruto got close enough.

"Where'd he go?" Orihime asked, frantically looking around for Itachi.

"Behind you!" Rock Lee exclaimed to Naruto.

Naruto looked behind him to see Itachi. "You haven't changed," Itachi said. "But I'm not interested in you at the moment."

"Get interested!" Naruto roundhouse kicked at Itachi, who easily grabbed his leg with one hand. Naruto glared at Itachi, helplessly.

Ichigo lifted his sword, preparing to attack, but stopped once Itachi began to talk.

"I know you are going to Silent Hill," he said matter of factly. "I wanted to offer some advice."

Staring with complete disbelief, Naruto asked, "Advice? What are you talking about? You're part of the Akatsuki, aren't you? I thought you were after the Kyuubi!"

"That's true," Itachi agreed. "But we must collect the other tailed beasts before you."

"Then what the heck are you doing here?"

"That's odd," Itachi said. "I thought I already told you. I'm only here to offer advice." Naruto and the others remained quiet. "I've been to Silent Hill. I suggest that you be ready for anything."

"Why were you at Silent Hill?" Neji asked.

"There are certain things about it," Itachi explained. "That peak my interest. As well as the interest of the other Akatsuki members. It's as simple as that." After examining the group's confused faces, he said, "It seems that you are confused. Don't worry, it will all become clear soon enough. For now, let's just say that I'm interested to see how my brother has developed."

Naruto and Sakura's eyes lit up and opened wide. "What do you mean?" Sakura yelled. "What does Sasuke have to do with Silent Hill?"

With that, Itachi disappeared in a puff of smoke, leaving nothing but questions behind. Naruto and Sakura stared at one another.

Ichigo sheathed his sword, and walked up to Naruto. "So you're Naruto Uzumaki?"

Smiling, Naruto replied, "You've heard of me?"

"From Tsunade," Ichigo answered.

Sakura joined Naruto, and asked, "What does Sasuke have to do with this?"

"I don't know," Naruto replied. "But that motivates me to get to this town even faster!"

"Who's Sasuke?" Uryû asked.

"Sasuke Uchiha," Sakura explained, her face immediately turning depressed and hopeless. "Is," she paused. "Was a ninja from the Leaf Village. But he was persuaded by an evil person named Orochimaru. He left the village, and is now a known criminal." A tear began to form.

"Uchiha?" Ichigo said. "That sounds familiar."

"Are you that dense?" Kiba asked. "Itachi Uchiha, Sasuke Uchiha? Ring any bells, you dope?"

"Shut the hell up," Ichigo replied.

"This easily just became an A rank mission if the Akatsuki are involved," Shikamaru said.

Sakura began to look around. "Wait, Naruto? Where's Jiraiya? I thought he was training you."

"We split up," Naruto explained. "Only about an hour ago. He said that a nice relaxing mission should be a good break from my training. He says it's really weird that Tsunade had given a special invitation to let me join you guys, but he mentioned that the Akatsuki might be involved, so he said I could go. It might bring us closer to Sasuke, and I guess I was right."

"So," Ichigo asked. "Who exactly is Orochimaru?"

Naruto explained, hate in his voice, "Orochimaru is a rouge ninja that betrayed the Leaf Village years ago."

"Man," Ichigo said. "A lot of people seem to hate this village."

"Shut up," Naruto yelled. "Anyway, he's the one who took Sasuke away. He also killed the Third Hokage."

"But I thought the Hokages were the strongest ninja," Rukia said.

"Don't forget," Uryû replied. "The Legendary Sannin can be above the Hokage."

"Anyway," Neji said. "You seem to have grown a little, Naruto."

"You think so?" Naruto asked, observing his body. "I just got these new clothes a few weeks ago, because my old ones got so ratty."

"It's good to see you," Shikamaru greeted Naruto. "Are you here to stay?"

"No," Naruto replied. "After this, I have to get back to my training. The only reason I'm here now is because Sasuke seems to have something to do with this."

"That's too bad," Rock Lee said. "I would have liked to have a sparring match with you, Naruto."

"Yeah, well," Naruto replied. "I don't exactly have many new techniques. But don't worry, I'll show you what I can do later, if we have to fight Itachi again."

Ichigo suddenly collapsed to the ground, panting heavily. Rukia rushed to his aid. "Ichigo!"

"What happened?" Naruto asked.

"He was hit with Itachi's Sharingan," Neji said. "It's a wonder he could still stand for that long. He must have an incredible amount of stamina."

"I can help," Sakura proclaimed as she slipped on two dark brown gloves. "I've dealt with mental damage before. I still haven't learned all of Lady Tsunade's healing techniques, but I'll do what I can."

"Maybe I should help," Orihime suggested.

"No," Sakura refused. "I've read a report on your abilities, Orihime. This is mental damage. Your techniques are incredible, but they can't help here."

Orihime sighed, feeling helpless.

Sakura began her work to heal Ichigo, working steady and hard. A green glow illuminated his body and he was slowly brought back to consciousness. Orihime oversaw the progress with watchful eyes.

"So tell me," Renji said. "Who exactly is Itachi Uchiha, and the Akatsuki?"

"The Akatsuki," Naruto explained. "Are a group of ninja who want to take control of all the tailed beasts."

Staring blankly, Renji replied, "Okay, you lost me. Tailed beasts? What are those?"

"You've never heard of the tailed beasts?" Sakura asked, astonished. "Where did you say you were from again?"

"Rukia and I are from the Soul Society," Renji replied. "Think of it as heaven."

"Wait," Naruto began. "You're ghosts?"

Sighing, Renji replied, "Yes, you can call us that. But we've already been over this before."

"How can we see you then?"

"It must be because you all seem to have high spiritual energy," Rukia answered. "It's rare, but all the ninja in your village have gained dominance over their energy, and can successfully control it. Most humans cannot do that."

"But what about him?" Kiba asked. "I thought Ichigo was a soul reaper too."

"He is," Rukia said. "But he was born a human. You see, I met him while searching for a Hollow."

Confused, Naruto asked, "Hollow? What's that?"

"It's a good spirit," Kiba replied.

"Actually," Rukia answered. "The Wholes are the good ones. Hollows are the evil ones."

"I get it," Naruto said.

"Anyway, I met Ichigo because the Hollow attacked his family, but he already had high spiritual pressure, so he could see me, even though I'm a soul reaper. Then I had an accident while fighting the Hollow. I was badly wounded, so I transferred my powers to Ichigo. Then that awoke the soul reaper powers that lay dormant within him. That's pretty much Ichigo's back story."

"A soul reaper huh?" Naruto wondered. "Can I be one too? They sound so cool! I want to carry a huge sword like that!"

"Actually," Renji said. "Ichigo's sword is in its Shikai state. That's why it's so big. Besides, you can be a soul reaper. Ichigo wasn't even supposed to get his powers from Rukia."

Naruto frowned. Neji asked, "Shikai? What is that?"

"Each Zanpaku-tô can change shapes. A Zanpaku-tô is a soul reaper's weapon," Rukia explained. "Ichigo's normal sword was a very large katana. The size of the blade is equivalent to the wielder's own energy. Or in terms you can understand, the more chakra, the bigger the blade."

The Leaf Ninja stared at Ichigo's overwhelmingly large sword, and gulped.

"But," Rukia continued. "Shikai is the first released form of the Zanpaku-tô. You must first learn the name of your blade. The name of my sword is Sodenoshirayuki."

"Oh yeah, I can remember that," Naruto remarked. "Are all the names that long?"

"No," Renji replied. "Mine is Zabimaru."

"What's his?" Choji asked, referring to Ichigo's blade.

"That's Zangetsu," Rukia explained.

The clouds had now fully taken over the sky. The sun was nowhere to be found, so it was hard to tell whether it was day, or close to night. Nevertheless, the group stayed with Ichigo as Sakura treated him. It took a long time, but she worked tirelessly. Orihime stayed by his side the entire time. The rest of the group exchanged questions and took the break as an opportunity to get to know one another. Finally, after a couple hours, the treatment was nearly complete. Ichigo began to show signs of life, as he twitched or grunted in his sleep.

Choji held his stomach. "I'm so hungry," he complained. Rukia shot him an angry look and he immediately closed his mouth.

Naruto watched in shock. "How did you get Choji to stop talking about food?"

Rukia replied, "I have my ways."

Naruto leaned over to Renji, whispering in his ear, "Scary chick."

Renji burst out laughing, holding his sides. Rukia glared at him.

"What did he say about me?"

"Who says it was about you?" Naruto replied.

"I know it was, and if I can't get you to tell me, I'll force Renji to." Renji stopped laughing and backed up. Rukia leaned in closer. "Tell me or I'll rip off those tattoos of yours that you're so proud of."

"Tattoos?" Naruto said. "I thought those were your eyebrows. Besides, how would you rip off tattoos?"

"She'll find a way," Renji gulped.

Rukia reached for Renji's face, but he backed away. "Get away," he ordered, laughing.

"He's up!" Orihime exclaimed, as everyone stopped what they were doing, and gathered around Ichigo.

Ichigo slowly opened his eyes to feel a warm sensation on his face. "What the hell is that?" When he fully opened his eyes, he saw Akamaru licking his face. The dog barked as Ichigo sat up, then he ran to Kiba.

Ichigo saw everyone around him. "Why are you all so close to me? Get away."

"He's so charming," Sakura replied sarcastically. "Anyway, he's healed. I'm surprised it didn't take longer, to be honest."

"I'm so glad," Orihime said. "That you're okay, Ichigo." She smiled as Ichigo nodded.

"So," Renji asked. "What did you see? It must have been pretty scary to make you faint."

Ichigo didn't answer. He simply stared at the ground. Rukia said, "Ichigo, we're your friends. You can tell us."

"Not me," Naruto replied. "I just met the guy, then he collapses!"

"Nice, jackass," Ichigo replied. "I saw," he paused. "My mother. And," pausing again, he drew a deep breath. "The day that I let that bastard, the Grand Fisher escape."

"Who's that?" Rock Lee asked.

"A dangerous Hollow that has evaded soul reapers for over fifty years," Rukia explained. "Ichigo fought him once, because it killed," But her sentence was cut off by Ichigo's angry glare. Rukia knew immediately to not say anymore. She gazed at the ground.

"Let's just get to that freaking town," Ichigo said. "It's been long enough." They began to walk again, soon after they gathered their belongings. The path quickly darkened at an alarming rate. They pressed on as the trees gradually got darker as well. The fog quickly became so thick that it was hard to see more than a few feet down the path. The group talked less and less as they got nearer and nearer.

"Do we have any idea where we're actually going?" Kiba asked.

Rukia pulled out her cell phone. "Of course. This is a map from the soul society. It tells us how to get to Silent Hill, but it has no map of the town. I'll fill that in myself."

They came to a fork in the road. "Which way?" Neji asked Rukia.

"To the left," Naruto answered.

"How would you know?" Ichigo replied.

"Because," Naruto said. "I came down the right path with the pervy sage. We didn't come from Silent Hill, so the only other way is the left one."

"Pervy sage?"

"Yeah," Sakura replied. "That's Jiraiya."

"You're calling one of the Legendary Sannin such a vulgar name?" Uryû asked, eyes wide.

"Trust me," Naruto replied. "The pervy sage isn't all that great. All he does is peek on girls, and when he gets caught he says he's doing research for his stupid book."

"A book?" Uryû asked.

"Yeah, it's some stupid book for older people. I think it's really boring, but Kakashi sensei really likes it. The pervy sage is writing a new one now too. The first one in a few years. I'm thinking I'll give it to Kakashi sensei as a present once I've finished my training."

"Who's Kakashi?" Ichigo asked.

"My teacher," Naruto replied. "Sakura's in my group too. Sasuke used to be our third and final member."

Before any more questions could be asked, the group stopped short. They saw a sign in front of them. White snow had begun to fall from the sky. Kiba held out his hand and grabbed a flake. Rubbing on his fingers, he said, "This isn't snow." It turned black on his fingers. "It's ash!"

Staring at the sign, it read:

Silent Hill

55


	6. Chapter 6: Silent Hill

**Chapter VI**

**Silent Hill**

The ash fell continuously to the ground, dissipating before it could even reach it. The streets ahead were completely invisible, obscured by the fog. All the group could see was the sign and the street that they were on, which seemed to stretch into oblivion. The town had an ominous feeling; like that they shouldn't be there. Beads of sweat tingled down their necks, dripping to the ground.

"This is it," Ichigo announced calmly. "But," he paused to look at Rukia. "I can't feel the spiritual pressure of anyone else. None at all."

Rukia flipped open her phone. "No matter," she replied. "I'll send a message to Captain Hitsugaya. He can tell us where he's located. They should be close enough to receive a message now." She pressed multiple buttons, put on a frustrated face and tried again. She got the same result. Then her eyes went wide. "It's dead."

"Why didn't you charge it before we left?" Ichigo asked, irritated.

"I did," Rukia snapped. "I even charged it at the Leaf Village too. It had full power this afternoon."

"There's nothing we can do," Naruto exclaimed. "Let's just go in." He began to walk inside.

"Naruto!" Sakura called after him. "You can't even see! Don't go charging in!" She grunted, "He hasn't changed at all."

"Dammit," Ichigo said, going after Naruto. "Listen, let's not be stupid. Let's move in a group."

"Fine," Naruto pouted. "I was just sick of waiting. We're here, so let's get to it!"

Ichigo and Naruto waited for a little while until the rest of the group caught up. They were now in the middle of a four way intersection. Deserted buildings surrounded them. They were boarded up, and looked run down. The lights on the traffic light were off.

"What now?" Choji asked.

"I suggest we split up," Shikamaru said. "Let's get this investigation underway."

"Not yet," Uryû replied. "What if we get lost? We don't have a means of communication."

"Yes we do," Shikamaru answered, reaching into his pouch and pulling out a small ear radio. "We can use these." He glanced at the radio in shock.

"What's with the look?" Neji asked.

"It's," Shikamaru paused. "Dead."

"What?" Neji replied, taking out his own radio. Despite who had a radio, they were all dead. "What is this? Why is this happening?"

"Must be the weird spiritual pressure," Rukia replied. "It must be interfering with your connections, and my phone."

"Could be," Shikamaru said, putting away his radio.

"In that case," Uryû began. "We should find a place to meet up. That way, we can set a certain amount of time to investigate, and then we'll meet back up at that place."

"Sounds good," Kiba replied. He started sniffing the air. "Wait, what's that stink?"

"I don't smell anything," Ichigo replied.

"That's because you don't have the smell of a canine," Shikamaru replied.

Kiba looked concerned. "That's not good." He paused. "It smells like blood."

"Blood?" Renji said. "You can smell that? Where's it coming from?"

"Over here," Kiba answered, beginning to walk down the street.

"Hold on," Neji instructed. "I'll use my Byakugan to see the exact spot and see if there's any danger."

"Byakugan?" Ichigo asked.

"It's a hereditary trait from the Hyuga clan," Neji explained. "It lets me see three hundred and sixty degrees around me. I can also see your chakra network and hit the exact spot to stop the flow of chakra, rendering you helpless. They say that the Sharingan descended from the Byakugan."

"Scary dude," Ichigo whispered to Chad, who merely nodded.

Neji closed his eyes and made a hand sign. After a short pause, he reopened his eyes. "Byakugan!" Veins surrounded his eyes.

They waited patiently for Neji to give them a report. He looked all the way round, gritting his teeth the whole time. After a full minute, Neji sighed, "I don't understand."

"What's wrong?" Rukia asked.

"My Byakugan isn't working. I can't see any different then you can." Neji glanced over Rock Lee. His eyes grew slightly wider. "Although it seems I can still see your chakra network."

"What else was there?" Ichigo asked.

"I'd be able to see through the fog," Neji replied. "But for some reason, I can't."

"That's odd," Shikamaru said.

"So," Neji began. "It looks like we'll have to search this town the old fashioned way; with our eyes."

"That's what I planned on," Ichigo replied.

Kiba growled, "But I can still smell blood."

"Lead us to it," Neji instructed.

Kiba did as he was ordered, and led the group down the street, to another intersection. This one looked much the same as the first, still hard to see through the ash and fog.

Kiba walked to the curb, glaring at it. "Here it is," he said, as Akamaru shivered. He was staring at the curb which had a small pool of blood on it.

Uryû observed it. "It looks like someone was dragged through here."

"The trail goes down the road," Rukia replied.

"Do we follow it?" Ichigo asked.

"This may be a good time to split up, like Shikamaru suggested," Uryû said.

"But we haven't decided where we'll meet up," Naruto said.

"Towns like these always have map booths," Uryû replied. "Look." He walked to the edge of the street and found a rectangular box attached to the ground. "Right in here is a map. See? We're on Nathan Avenue, near the Ridgeview Medical Clinic."

"Oh, okay," Naruto agreed. "So then what's the meeting point?"

"It would make sense," Rukia began. "To make the meeting point at the medical clinic. That way, when we split up, any group without Sakura or Orihime can use the tools in there to patch themselves up."

"I guess we should make the groups then," Shikamaru announced. He thought for a moment, analyzing the group members. "Okay, I think I made a good match up. Normally, we'd work in teams of three, but in this case, we need to cover as much ground as possible. So we'll be in groups of two. Kiba and Renji will be a group. Then Naruto and Ichigo."

"That's a good team," Sakura began.

"Two hot headed idiots," Rukia finished. Sakura and Rukia looked at each other, pleasantly surprised that they both think the same thing.

"Get used to each other," Shikamaru told them. "I put you two in a group."

Sakura smiled, and Rukia nodded in approval.

"Then Choji and Chad. Then Neji and Uryû. Then Rock Lee and Orihime."

The group separated into their respective places. "So," Ichigo said. "We'll meet up at the medical clinic on Lindsey Street."

Shikamaru nodded. "But to make sure that we all get back at the same time, we'll have two hours to explore the town. Then we all gather there to discuss what we learned."

Everyone agreed, anxious to get started. Shikamaru walked over to the map booth, and motioned for everyone else to come as well. "Orihime and Rock Lee will take Neely Street. Kiba and Renji will look at Sanders Street. Ichigo and Naruto will take Norman Avenue."

"Heck no!" Naruto complained.

"Why not?" Shikamaru asked.

"Because there's nothing there!"

"Man, you're such a pain, Naruto. Even after a year," Shikamaru sighed. "Then you can have Neely Street, and Rock Lee and Orihime will take Nathan."

Rock Lee frowned, "That is most disappointing! Does that not upset you, Orihime?"

Orihime blushed and replied, "I'm sure that Shikamaru has a good reason for assigning us to the streets he does, so I don't mind."

"Thanks," Shikamaru smiled at her. Losing his smile, he continued, "Choji and Chad will have Katz Street. Neji and Uryû can take Rosewater Park. Rukia, you and Sakura can examine Martin Street. And finally, I will go with Uryû and Neji, because we have an odd numbered team."

Everyone in the group remained quiet, waiting for Shikamaru to continue. "Let's go," he said, and everyone moved out.

***

Ichigo and Naruto started their journey to their own area, Neely Street. They walked along Nathan Avenue, and in only a short distance, the other group members quickly became invisible in the fog. They walked in silence, unsure what to say to each other. They passed a few buildings, such as a deserted fire station, with the windows broken or boarded up. Graffiti was written all over the boards. The fog became eerie, and made them uneasy. The whole time they walked, they saw not a single person.

Naruto finally found something to say, "So what's it like, being a Soul Reaper?"

Taken aback, Ichigo replied, "It's fine. I became a Soul Reaper to protect my family." After a short pause, Ichigo returned the question, "What's it like growing up as a ninja?"

"It's awesome," Naruto replied, enthusiastically. He paused, looking around the town for a brief moment. "What do you think is wrong with this place?"

"How would I know?"

Naruto remained silent.

They finally reached Neely Street, and it looked exactly like all the others; no people, foggy, and run down. They stared down the empty street, barely moving. To their right was a church.

"So," Ichigo said, taking the first step onto the street. "Let's start our look." The two walked up and down the street many times, passing nothing but run down buildings, bars, and restaurants. The investigation seemed to go on forever. Finally, after four times searching the street, Naruto asked, "How long has it been?"

Ichigo stared blankly. "I don't have a watch, I thought you did."

Naruto stayed quiet for a brief second. Then he screamed, "So how are we supposed to know when to go back?"

Ichigo yelled back, "I don't know! Don't get mad at me, it's not my fault!"

Naruto began to pace back and forth. "What now?"

Ichigo closed his eyes, thinking. "Crap, it could have been an hour already! What do we do now?" Then he got an idea. Reopening his eyes, he said to Naruto, "Wait, I have an idea!"

Slowing down, Naruto asked, "What is it?"

"Let's see how long it takes to walk to and from the church. We've done that four times already. So another time would make five. If we know how many minutes one trip takes, we can multiply that by five."

Sighing, Naruto said, "That's a great idea, let's do it."

They completed their task, and walked from the church to the end of the street, then back. Ichigo counted the whole time. Once they got back to the church, they sat down on the marble steps.

"So?" Naruto asked.

"It took us five minutes and twelve seconds. But we don't have a real stopwatch so we're going to have to assume that's right. It's all we've got."

"So what's that times five?"

"Can't you do that?" Ichigo snapped. "I counted, and came up with the idea. Put in something."

Naruto muttered something inaudible. "What was that?" Ichigo said.

"I said I can't do math," Naruto replied.

"What the hell?" Ichigo asked. "Fine, I'll do it." He counted on his fingers, got frustrated, and then used the tip of Zangetsu to scratch the equation on the street.

"Won't that dull your blade?" Naruto asked.

"No," Ichigo replied. "Hold on, I'm almost done. A few seconds later, a small section of the street was scratched up, but Ichigo had found his answer. "Five laps are twenty six minutes, roughly."

"Wait," Naruto said, counting on his fingers. "Couldn't you have done five times five? You know five laps and five minutes?"

"Shut up!" Ichigo snapped, sheathing Zangetsu. "The decimals always screw me up!"

They sat in silence for a brief second. They stared across the street at an empty parking lot. "So," Naruto began. "We've only been here for a half hour."

"Yeah."

"What now?"

Ichigo thought for a moment. "I guess we should try to go in the buildings and search in there."

"Okay."

They got up and Ichigo said, "I guess we should try the church first, considering we're already here."

Naruto agreed, and they walked up to the large wooden doors. Ichigo grabbed the large metal handle and turned. But the handle was stuck. "That's annoying."

"What?" Naruto asked, looking over Ichigo's shoulder.

"It's locked."

Naruto walked up to the handle and tried turning it, having no better results than Ichigo. "Yeah, it's stuck pretty good."

"I guess we need a key, or something," Ichigo said. "I don't really want to wait that long. No one's even around, I say we just break it open."

Naruto smiled, "All right, but I want to do it!"

"Fine," Ichigo agreed, stepping back for Naruto to break the door down. "It's big, so don't hurt yourself."

"Funny," Naruto replied, winding up him arm. He lifted his leg as far back as he could. Then, with all his might, he thrust his foot at the door, slamming into it with full force. Naruto stared at the door, which didn't even budge. Naruto put down his leg, howling in pain and rubbing his foot.

Ichigo laughed and said, "Didn't I warn you not to hurt yourself?"

Growling, Naruto replied, "I'm not done yet!" He stood up and gritted his teeth. "This stupid door is going down!" Naruto made a lower case t with his two index and middle fingers and put them to his chest. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" he yelled. A puff of smoke appeared behind Naruto. Ichigo stared in wonder. When the smoke dissipated, a second Naruto was behind the first. Naruto put back his hand, and the clone began to use his hands to move the air around Naruto's. Quickly, a glowing blue sphere formed in Naruto's hand. The clone disappeared in another puff of smoke, and Naruto thrust his hand with the sphere into the door, yelling, "Rasengan!"

Naruto kept the sphere there for a second, pushing it deeper and deeper into the door. He gritted his teeth with the strain, but kept up the attack. Finally, when he could hold it no longer, he exhaled, letting the attack fade away. He took many deep breaths, sweat dripping from his face.

Ichigo stared in amazement. "What," he paused. "The hell was that?"

"That," Naruto began, pausing to take another breath. "Was a Jutsu." He smiled, with one eye still closed.

"Impressive and everything," Ichigo said. "But you didn't even scratch the door."

Naruto followed Ichigo's finger, and stared at the door. Sure enough, it remained unscathed. Naruto screamed in anger. "What? That can't be! That was my Rasengan!"

"Um," Ichigo began. "What just happened?"

"I used my Shadow Clone Jutsu and Rasengan."

"That means nothing to me unless you explain it, you idiot," Ichigo replied sharply.

Ignoring Ichigo, Naruto replied, "A Jutsu is the release of chakra through hand signs. I used a Jutsu to create a clone." Ichigo nodded. "Then I had that clone create my attack, the Rasengan, in my hand."

"Why did you need a clone?"

"Because I can't move the chakra in my hand unless I use two hands, but one hand needs to hold the Rasengan."

"Got it," Ichigo answered. "But now I'm going to give this a try."

"You're going to use the Rasengan?" Naruto asked, doubtfully.

"No," Ichigo replied, unsheathing Zangetsu. "I mean I'm going to break this damn door down." He lifted Zangetsu high, and bringing him down, Ichigo yelled, "Getsuga Tenshô!" Ichigo's attack hit the door full force, but it too was absorbed, leaving no damage to the door itself.

Both Ichigo and Naruto gaped at the door, with shocked faces. Ichigo gritted his teeth. "Dammit," he said. "This can't be right."

"Told you," Naruto taunted. Then he smiled. "I'll bet that this is a Genjutsu."

"What's that?"

"An illusion caused by a Jutsu," Naruto explained. "I'll bet that Itachi Uchiha is making this illusion."

"From where?" Ichigo asked.

"If he's making an illusion, then we won't see him if he doesn't want us to," Naruto replied.

"This isn't a Genjutsu," Ichigo said.

"How do you know?"

Ichigo stayed quiet for a second, reflecting on his experience in Itachi's Sharingan. A cold bead of sweat slid down his cheek. "I know what it feels like, okay? But this town is," he paused. "Different."

"How's that?" Naruto asked.

"This town feels worse than the Sharingan."

They sat at the steps for a long time, with an uneasy feeling developing around them. Not even wind dared to pass through this town. Finally, Naruto suggested, "Maybe we should try another building. Just in case."

"Sure," Ichigo agreed, standing up.

They walked a short distance before they found another building on the other side of the street. This building wasn't very tall, but it was pretty long.

Naruto read the sign. "It's some kind of pet shot," He announced. "I want a puppy." There was sarcasm in his voice.

Smiling, Ichigo replied, "Let's just get inside." He tried to turn the knob, but got the same results as the church doors. "This will work this time though."

"What will?"

"Breaking in," Ichigo replied. "There are windows on this door, so we can smash those easily."

"Got it," Naruto replied, smirking.

Ichigo took out Zangetsu and used the hilt to lightly hit a window. The glass, however, didn't even crack. Slightly angered, Ichigo used more force, but to no avail. Eventually, he became so angry that he was using full force, repeatedly hitting the window, occasionally muttering words such as "damn" or "stupid ass window, why won't you break?" Once he was out of breath, he gave up. "You going to try the Rasengan?"

"There's no point," Naruto replied. "If a full force smash with a metal sword won't work, then I think that this Genjutsu is stronger than I thought. It has to be Itachi's Mangekyou Sharingan."

"The what now?"

"That's the term used to describe Itachi's Sharingan when he uses illusions. He has Sharingan, which copies an attack, and Mangekyou Sharingan, when he can create illusions."

"Why are there so many damn powers?" Ichigo growled angrily.

Ignoring Ichigo's comments, Naruto replied, "This illusion is pretty strong. It's been nearly an hour and a half, and Itachi's still keeping it up."

"I don't think this is an illusion," Ichigo said, but Naruto continued to ignore him. "Hey are you even listening?"

Finally, Naruto replied, "How else would you explain a whole town's population disappearing and glass that we can't break?"

"Really freaky crap."

"Whatever," Naruto said. "It looks like our time's almost up. We're going to have to go back to the medical clinic soon."

"We barely found anything," Ichigo mumbled.

Despite Ichigo's negativity, they both began to walk north, towards the end of Neely Street. The fog did not lighten, and they still saw no one. They quickly reached the top of the street when Naruto suggested, "Hey, that was boring. Do you want to find something better?"

"What are you talking about?" Ichigo asked, walking east towards the medical clinic.

"Let's go explore on our own," Naruto suggested.

"Screw that," Ichigo retorted. "Don't you get it? We made a schedule. If we don't stick to that, we may never find the others again."

Naruto smiled, reaching into his pouch behind his leg. "Yeah, but I have these!" He pulled out some kind of black, small device.

"And what the hell are those?" Ichigo asked.

"They're little radios," Naruto answered. "We can use these to communicate with the others. All the other ninja have at least one of these in their pouches. They'll have them on, so we can talk to them."

Smirking, Ichigo said, "All right. Maybe we can search somewhere else." Naruto began to run west, down the misty street, pounding the ground with his feet. "But we should," Ichigo stopped short, noticing Naruto had already left. "Hey! Get back here!" He chased after Naruto.

They ran for a little while, Ichigo slowly closing the gap between them. "He's so damn impatient!" He wheezed, out of breath.

Finally, Ichigo noticed that Naruto had stopped up ahead. He was staring at something. Ichigo stopped running, and walked towards him. "What's wrong?"

"I'm just looking at this," Naruto replied, staring at a rusty stop sign.

Smirking, Ichigo replied, "I don't think any cars are coming. I think you're safe to cross the street."

Confused, Naruto asked, "Car? What's a car?"

Gaping, Ichigo replied, "What the hell do you mean?"

Suddenly, Ichigo and Naruto got chills down their spines, as a creeping sensation filled the air around them. A dark being was close to them. They heard gurgling sounds from behind them. They turned to see a shadowy figure slip behind a building. It moved awkwardly, like it was going to trip over itself.

"What," Ichigo paused. "In the hell was that?"

Naruto let out a small yelp. Ichigo turned to him. Naruto was staring at the ground near where the figure had disappeared. Ichigo followed his gaze to find a trail of dark red blood, leading behind the building.

After a pause, Naruto asked, "Do we follow it?"

"I don't see what else we can do," Ichigo replied. "What's wrong? You're usually so pumped up."

"Something isn't right," Naruto said, shaking slightly.

Ichigo didn't say anything, but he didn't have to. Naruto understood the feeling that he was feeling. They began to walk towards the intersection, following the trail of dark red blood. It was wet, and freshly made. They walked slowly and cautiously. They turned the corner and saw the limping figure disappear into the fog.

"Let's go get it," Naruto said, picking up the pace slightly. Ichigo did the same. They tracked the creature quite easily, due to the ever flowing trail of blood leading down the street.

They continued to follow it for a few minutes, occasionally seeing the faint outline of the figure slipping further into the shadows. It finally led them to a tunnel. The other side was sealed off, and the opened side had wooden boards to block it, but was easily maneuvered through. As they drew closer, they noticed a sharp, piercing sound emitting from the side of tunnel.

Covering his ears, Naruto asked, "What is that?"

A dark, human shaped figure stood up inside the dark tunnel, but it was still too dark to see it clearly. It knelt down beside another figure. Crunching and ripping sounds emerged from the inside of the tunnel. They were sickening, and sent disturbing chills down their souls. A trail of blood began to pour from the inside of the tunnel. Ichigo and Naruto stared helplessly inside. Naruto had released his ears to cover his mouth as his stomach turned upside down at the horrible sounds.

Feeling sick, Ichigo said, "I'm going in there." Naruto stared at Ichigo, in disbelief, but did not stop him. Ichigo drew Zangetsu, and easily stepped over the wooden blockade.

Ichigo was now inside the tunnel. He felt something sticky and warm on his foot. Once he looked down, he noticed blood had crept over his foot, staining his sock a deep red. Ichigo gulped, trying not to gag. The smell was horrific. The dark figure stood up, acknowledging the new intruder. Ichigo could see it better than before, but it was still too dark. It definitely had a human shape. Its legs were bent at the knees, but not forward like a normal human, but to the inside, in a horrible way. It had a dark spot on its chest, which seemed to ooze some kind of thick liquid. It didn't look like blood, but it was still too dark to tell accurately.

Ichigo lifted Zangetsu in his hands, preparing for a fight. He began to sweat coldly as his blood turned to ice. His whole arm went numb, and he began to gulp a lot. "What are you?" He glanced at the hole in its chest. "Are you a Hollow?"

Suddenly, the figure threw it shoulders back, letting out a stream of black liquid spit from its chest. Ichigo dodged to the side, but hesitated, not expecting a long ranged attack. Ichigo felt a burning sensation. He glanced at his hands, noticing the liquid reached his arm. "Damn!" He dropped Zangetsu, wiping the liquid onto his Shihakushô. "It's freaking acid!"

Ichigo searched for Zangetsu as the creature drew closer, gargling. "Dammit!" Ichigo groaned as he picked up a wooden plank. "Bite me!" Ichigo yelled as he swung the wooden plank into the creature's skull. It caved in with a sickening crushing sound. Dark blood splattered the plank. "Looks like your blood isn't acid."

The creature didn't stay down however. It got back up, as Ichigo swung down onto the thing's back. It collapsed in a heap of beaten flesh. It began to squirm violently, as its own blood sprayed the ground. A large gash ripped at the creature. The wooden plank's rough edges were stuck into the monster's shoulder. Ichigo ripped it out with a grunt, as bits of torn flesh and bone came out with it. More blood sprayed the tunnel. The creature stopped moving, and just hissed on the ground, drowning in its own blood.

Naruto stepped inside. He noticed the creature still breathing. He lifted his foot high, and then brought it down with a terrible crunching sound onto the creature's skull. The thing immediately stopped moving, as it lay there, dead. Naruto took a deep breath. "What the heck is that?"

Gazing at the rotting corpse, Ichigo shook his head. "I have no idea. It can't be a Hollow. They would disappear after we killed it."

"Is it dead?"

"I would be able to move for at least two weeks after getting that kind of beating," Ichigo replied.

After a short moment of silence, Naruto said, "What was it doing in here?"

"That's right," Ichigo said, remembering the sickening noises coming from the tunnel just before he entered. "It was eating this, I think." Ichigo walked over to the other figure. "I can't tell what it is. Let's drag these two things out into the light."

Reluctantly, Naruto and Ichigo grabbed the figures, and dragged them out of the tunnel. They each gasped and dropped the figures, letting them slam into the pavement. The creature had a silky gray skin, with no arms or face. It simply had a human shape and a black hole in its chest. The second figure was too mangled to tell accurately what it was. Blood covered it from head to toe. Bits of torn flesh and bone littered the tunnel.

Ichigo bent down next to the bloodied figure. "Look at this," he said, reaching into the corpse.

"What the hell are you doing?" Naruto yelled, disgusted.

"There's something in here. Besides, He's wearing a jacket, I'm reaching into the pocket, you idiot."

Naruto stared at the mangled body as Ichigo pulled out a wallet. Naruto ran to the side of the tunnel, violently puking.

"Stop!" Ichigo ordered.

"How can I?" Naruto replied as he continued to throw up.

"Because if you keep it up," Ichigo began, but it was too late. A wave of sickness overtook him as he began to throw up next to the body. "Dammit, now I'm sick."

Naruto stared into space for a minute. Then he said, "Hey do you hear anything?"

Ichigo, silent, listened into the distance. "No, why?"

"Exactly," Naruto replied. "Wasn't there some kind of static before?"

Remembering, Ichigo agreed. "It was coming from around the area where you were standing."

Naruto looked around for a second. Some red object was on a barrel a few feet ahead of him. He walked over to it and picked it up. Then he walked back to Ichigo. "What is it?"

Ichigo took the object. After a quick examination, he replied, "It's a pocket radio. But why did it static when that thing was alive?"

"Is it broken?" Naruto asked.

"I don't think so."

"But I want to know what the hell that thing is!" Naruto said, pointing to the gray skinned creature.

"I thing the term monster is a bit much," Ichigo said. "But it definitely isn't human."

"What do we do with the radio?" Naruto asked.

"We should take it."

Why?"

"Because it started to static when that thing was alive. It can warn us when others are coming."

"Who said there are others?" Naruto replied. "There was probably only one of these things."

"We don't know that though. We might as well be cautious."

Naruto reluctantly agreed. "I'll carry it though. I have the most pockets."

Ichigo nodded in agreement. "Remember to keep it on at all times though." Naruto nodded in return. "We should probably reconnect with the others in the group. Call them with your head radio thing."

As Naruto plugged his headpiece into his ear, he asked, "Why didn't this radio static too?"

"I wouldn't know," Ichigo replied, waiting for Naruto to turn on the communications line.

Naruto talked into the radio for a second, calling out of Neji. After no answer, he tried Shikamaru. Eventually, he tried every member, but to no avail.

"What's wrong?" Ichigo asked.

"The line's dead," Naruto replied, astonished.

Irritated, Ichigo yelled, "That's why you shouldn't have run off like you did, you moron! We should have tested it before!"

Naruto ignored him, as he pocketed his headpiece again.

"Dammit, Naruto," Ichigo said as he returned into the tunnel.

"What are you doing?" Naruto asked.

"I'm getting Zangetsu." Ichigo bent down and made his way pat the wooden blockade. He quickly found what he was looking for. Blood was splattered on the blade, as it was resting in a puddle of blood. Ichigo wiped it off onto his Shihakushô and walked out of the tunnel to rejoin Naruto.

Naruto waited for Ichigo. Once he was standing beside Naruto, Naruto asked, "So where do we go now?"

"I think we spent enough time doing nothing. We should go back to the others," Ichigo answered.

Naruto agreed, and they began to walk back to the medical clinic. The road remained foggy and ominous. As they walked, Naruto said, "Man, this whole town gives me the creeps." Ichigo nodded. "But why do you think the radio started to static when that thing came by?"

"Probably because of the really weird spiritual pressure that it released. That's the only thing I can think of."

"That makes sense," Naruto agreed. "I wonder what happened here."

"Beats me," Ichigo replied.

Naruto shrugged and they pressed on. The road was a long one, and quite uneventful. After a few miles, Naruto asked, "Where are we?"

Ichigo walked over to the sidewalk. "We can use these," he directed Naruto's attention to a map booth. "Looks like we're almost there. Let's just keep going."

And that's what they did. They walked for another mile or two, before the familiar building appeared before them. Although, when they approached it, only a few people were standing outside of it. When Ichigo and Naruto finally drew close enough, they could tell it was Rock Lee, Orihime, Chad, and Choji.

"Here they are!" Orihime exclaimed gleefully.

"Were you waiting for us?" Ichigo asked.

"You were gone for a while," Rock Lee reported. "We thought you may have gotten lost. Orihime and I would have had to go after you!" His face was mere inches away from Ichigo's.

Ichigo stared at Rock Lee's overly large eyebrows. "Yeah, well," he paused, then yelled, "Get the hell out of my face!"

Rock Lee immediately withdrew. The others watched this spectacle in wonder. "You are certainly not very friendly."

"I don't give a damn!"

"We shouldn't fight," Chad announced. "First of all, Choji, why don't you use that radio to tell the others that Ichigo and Naruto have come back?"

"Right!" Choji replied, reaching into his pouch.

"Oh, damn," Ichigo said.

"What's wrong?" Rock Lee asked.

"Those radios don't work," Naruto replied. "We tried them earlier."

After staring blankly, Rock Lee said, "That could be a problem. But we cannot give up! We must use the burning flame of youth and dig deep into our powers to find our friends!" He leaned over to Ichigo.

"Why do you always bother me?" Ichigo asked.

"Come on, Ichigo," Rock Lee said, encouragingly. "Yell guts with me!"

"I've seen enough of those lately," Ichigo replied.

"Guts!" Rock Lee exclaimed loudly. Ichigo put his head down. "Come on, Ichigo! Guts!"

Ichigo picked up his head again, yelling, "Bite me!"

Taken aback, Rock Lee stood down. "I guess he has his own type of flame."

"Enough of this," Naruto yelled. "Come on, guys, we need to find the others!"

The rest of the group agreed, waiting for Naruto to continue his speech. "I think we should split up, and meet back here in another two hours," Naruto explained. "Do we remember where each group went?"

"I remember Kiba and Renji went to the park," Choji said.

"No," Orihime corrected. "That was Shikamaru and Neji."

"Didn't Uryû go with them?" Ichigo asked.

Growling, Naruto yelled, "This is useless! We can't remember! We'll just search everywhere, and meet back here in tow hours!"

"Fine with me," Ichigo agreed.

"That doesn't seem very smart," Rock Lee complained.

Nevertheless, Rock Lee and the others began to search. They split back into their original groups, Ichigo with Naruto, Rock Lee with Orihime, and Chad with Choji.

Ichigo and Naruto traveled down south. They went onto a few different streets. They all looked the same, run down and shady. But there was no one to be found.

"What do you think they were doing there?" Naruto asked.

"They were probably told to wait for us, and then communicate with the rest of the group when we came back. But with the lines dead, they couldn't," Ichigo replied.

"Stupid headpiece," Naruto said angrily.

Just then, a sharp static erupted in Naruto's pouch. "What the hell is that?"

"It's the pocket radio, you idiot!" Ichigo yelled. "Something's nearby!" He put his hand on Zangetsu's hilt.

"Wait," Naruto said, pulling the radio out from his pocket. "There's a voice!"

Sure enough, a faint voice came from the radio. "Help-----e…"

Naruto's eyes went wide. "That's," he paused, shocked. "That sounds like Sasuke!"

"Na—to….I'm at—he-----cool….aiting------or you…"

The line became deadly silent. Naruto clenched the radio tightly. "It really is him. Sasuke's here."

"What do you want to do?" Ichigo asked.

"He said he's at the school," Naruto replied.

"Are you sure? It sounded like static to me."

"That's where I'm going," Naruto announced. Sasuke is at the school, and I'm going to find him. If there's a chance that Orochimaru is really behind this, then I need to find Sasuke as soon as possible."

"Sounds like your mind is made up," Ichigo said. He could see the pure determination in Naruto's eyes as he began to walk forward. "Then let's go to the school." After a pause, Ichigo asked, "But where is the school?"

Naruto walked to a map booth. "Look," he said. "We're in the Lakeview side of Silent Hill. There's a school in Old Silent Hill district. It's called Midwich Elementary School."

"Then that's where we'll go," Ichigo agreed. "So we need to go west for quite a while before we can get to Old Silent Hill."

"Looks like," Naruto agreed. "But should we tell the others?"

"How?"

"Good point," Naruto agreed.

They began to walk west, onto another fog filled street. They traveled for quite some time, slowly making their way to Old Silent Hill.

69

69


	7. Chapter 7: Old Silent Hill

Chapter VII

**Old Silent Hill**

Ichigo and Naruto walked with caution through the dense fog, down Nathan Avenue, which held an ominous feeling. Yet, they crept along; trying not to make much sound while they step to avoid as many enemies as possible. They barely talked, a little shaken up from their previous encounter under the bridge. The fog didn't get any clearer, no matter how far they walked.

"Weren't Orihime and Rock Lee searching this street?" Naruto asked, glancing from side to side, not seeing much through the white that surrounded them.

"Yeah," Ichigo replied. "But we saw them back at that clinic. So I doubt they'd look in the same area. They're probably on another street by now."

"I guess so," Naruto said. "Where was Sakura?"

Frowning, Ichigo replied, "I don't know. I didn't pay attention."

Dissatisfied, Naruto shut his mouth, and walked on in silence.

They reached a large curve in the street, which seemed to lead them in a big circle. However, once they drew further down the road, they could see more and more buildings. These were smaller than the ones on Nathan Avenue. As they passed Ichigo recognized them as apartments or shops. They passed a couple gas stations. Naruto stared in amazement.

"What is all this?" He asked.

"Apartments," Ichigo replied. "There's a store." He pointed to a small shop labeled Café. "And that's a gas station."

Amazed, Naruto asked, "What's a gas station do?"

A little bewildered, Ichigo asked, "What do you mean? You buy gas there."

"Gas?" Naruto asked, a smug look on his face. "I didn't know people buy that. I figured the smell would drive people away!"

Ichigo shot Naruto a weird look. "Did you just make a fart joke?" Naruto shrugged. "How old did you say you were?"

"Look, I'm thirteen, all right? I don't know what you mean by gas!"

"For cars, you idiot!" Ichigo yelled, becoming quite annoyed. "What else?"

"I don't even know what a car is!"

Ichigo stared blankly, unsure how to react. "What do you mean?"

"You were going to tell me, but then we ran into that thing!"

Remembering, Ichigo sighed, "Oh, that's right. A car is a way of transportation." He paused. "But how don't you know that?"

"I don't know! We don't have cars!" Naruto exclaimed.

"That's just weird," Ichigo said.

"No it's not! You don't have ninjas, so there!"

"We have soul reapers," Ichigo replied, the temper in his voice rising.

"They're not as good as ninjas!" Naruto replied.

"Want to find out?" Ichigo threatened, reaching for his sword.

"Let's do it," Naruto smirked.

They stopped walking and turned to face each other. They stared in each other's eyes, fire burning in their souls. They both shook slightly from anticipation. Ichigo slowly drew his sword, while Naruto began to draw a kunai. In an instant, they both charged at each other, with the full intent to prove the other wrong. Naruto thrust his kunai at Ichigo's shoulder, who nimbly dodged, slamming the hilt of Zangetsu into Naruto's back.

Naruto yelped in pain as he dropped to the floor. Ichigo seized this opportunity to bring his foot crashing down on Naruto's back, but Naruto rolled to his side and used his legs to grab Ichigo's leg. Naruto twisted, causing Ichigo to fall to the ground as well. Ichigo used his hand to stop the fall, but Naruto was already up, and in mid stance for a roundhouse kick. Ichigo blocked with Zangetsu, as he regained his balance. They both took a deep breath as they charged again.

Ichigo swung a horizontal slash. As Naruto ducked, Naruto swung with his leg, connecting with the side of Ichigo's leg, causing Ichigo to fall yet again. Ichigo thrust Zangetsu into the ground, stopping his fall. Naruto kicked again, this time connecting with Ichigo's hand. Ichigo let go of Zangetsu, and fell backwards. Naruto leapt in the air with his kunai aimed at Ichigo's chest.

Ichigo caught Naruto's arms before the kunai could penetrate his skin. Ichigo gasped for air as he used all his strength to hold off Naruto. Both struggled fiercely, trying to overpower the other. Finally, Ichigo moved to the side, letting the kunai stick into the ground. Ichigo kneed Naruto in the face, forcing him to drop the weapon. A small amount of blood trickled from Naruto's nose.

Naruto wiped it off with his sleeve. "So you're going to use my weapon against me?" Naruto asked.

"Hell no," Ichigo replied. "I don't need your crappy weapons!" He smirked triumphantly as he charged at Naruto yet again. Naruto remained still, not expecting a charging attack. Ichigo grabbed Naruto's collar, and used all his might to pick Naruto up, and throw him over his shoulder. Naruto hit the ground hard and slid a few feet. Once he got up on one knee, his pants were slightly ripped, and blood stained his knee. Naruto huffed, smiling. He returned the charge, facing Ichigo with shear determination. Ichigo stood ready. Naruto punched at Ichigo's face, while Ichigo punched at Naruto's but both caught the other's punch in mid air. They stood, locked in combat, veins pulsing from their muscles.

Ichigo grunted, "You have guts!"

"You sound like bushy brows!" Naruto retorted.

"Don't compare me to that freak!" Ichigo pulled Naruto closer, making Naruto lose his balance. Ichigo kicked Naruto in the stomach, knocking the wind out of him.

Naruto fell to the ground, holding his stomach in pain, trying to breathe, but to no avail. Ichigo gasped for air, sweat beginning to form on his forehead. Naruto, grimaced, regaining his balance.

"I'm," Naruto began. "Going to kick your ass!" He charged once more, his arm ready to swing. His eyes burned with a fiery rage.

Ichigo got into a readied stance. They began to throw punch after punch at each other. Each one dodged or countered, but no one landed another blow. They struggled for a few good minutes, until they began to get sloppy from exhaustion. Their punches became slower, as their breaths became heavier. Naruto punched the air towards Ichigo's face, while Ichigo did the same to Naruto. They both caught the other's fist, locked them into combat. They strained to over power each other. Sweat began to form on Naruto's brow as he gritted in teeth from the effort. Ichigo also began to show signs of energy loss. He gasped for a breath for an instant, and then shut his mouth to avoid showing signs of any weakness.

Then Ichigo used all his might to pull Naruto in, causing him to lose his balance. Naruto hung in mid air for a second, until Ichigo took the opportunity to slam his knee into Naruto's face. Naruto was knocked backwards, stumbling after Ichigo let got of Naruto's hands. A small trickle of blood dripped from Naruto's nose. He wiped it away, smirking.

Ichigo shook his hand from side to side, and then balled it back into a fist. He bounced to the left and right, in a full battle ready pose.

Naruto charged blindly, rage filling his eyes, yet fully determined to beat Ichigo to the ground. Naruto swung a left hook, but Ichigo ducked low to the ground. Ichigo pushed of the ground with his feet and grabbed Naruto's collar again. But Ichigo didn't have the energy to lift Naruto up again. Instead, he just tackled Naruto to the ground.

As they fell, Naruto seized Ichigo's clothing as well. They both hit the ground hard. Ichigo coughed from the impact. They wrestled on the ground, trying to get on top of the other, both losing energy fast. Sweat began to pour from their foreheads. They rolled from one side of the street to the other, cutting themselves on the hard rocks that lay on the ground.

They continued to wrestle until a sharp static erupted from Naruto's pocket. They ceased to roll around. Still holding onto Ichigo, Naruto said, "What the heck is that?"

Ichigo let go of Naruto's collar. "It's the radio we picked up!"

They both immediately stopped, and let the other go. A little ways off, they saw a shaded figure coming near them. They gasped as the being drew closer. It swayed from side to side, but it seemed to have a different shape.

They squinted to see the creature. "Is it another one of those things from the bridge?" Naruto asked.

"So there is more than one," Ichigo acknowledged.

"Guess you were right after all," Naruto said.

Once the creature came close enough, Naruto pointed out, "Check it out, it's walking on four legs!"

"Yeah."

"It must be a dog!" Naruto exclaimed. "It's way too big to be Akamaru, but maybe it's friendly?"

"Yeah," Ichigo retorted, sarcastically. "Go and pet it, see what happens."

"I will!" Naruto defied, forming a hand sign. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" After the puff of smoke vanished, a clone stood beside Naruto. Already knowing what to do, the clone moved closer to the animal, walking very nervously.

Ichigo and the real Naruto stared intently, as the clone drew closer, slowly reaching out his hand. The creature growled, and snapped. The clone twisted around quickly and yelled, "Okay, it's not friendly!"

Suddenly, the monster lunged at the clone's back, ripping through his flesh. Another puff of smoke appeared, leaving the clone destroyed.

Naruto and Ichigo glared in shock. The monster began to charge at them, snapping and growling.

Ichigo instinctively reached for his sword, to find that it wasn't there. In horror, he looked around to find that it was still over on the side of the street after Naruto kicked it away.

"I'll do it!" Naruto exclaimed, reaching for his kunai, only to have the same realization.

The animal leapt, but Ichigo and Naruto swiftly moved out of the way.

Ichigo used his elbow to crush the dog's ribs. It merely bounced off, and hit the ground, landing on its feet, seemingly unharmed. "Damn," Ichigo grunted. "We can't do anything to it, without weapons!"

Naruto uttered a long cry as he jumped into the air, his foot above his head, and his head tucked into his chest. He brought his leg crashing down onto the dog's skull, making a sickening crunching noise.

The animal staggered for an instant, before it shook its head and got ready for round two.

"Dammit," Ichigo grunted.

Naruto smirked. "Well, I didn't want to have to use such a powerful technique on just a lame dog, but we can't hurt it by punching. Not easily, anyway."

"You got a plan?" Ichigo asked, intrigued.

Without replying, Naruto formed a hand sign, performing the shadow clone Jutsu. Only one clone stood behind Naruto. The real Naruto put back his hand, as the clone swirled the air around his hand. A shining blue sphere shone brightly in Naruto's palm. "Take this!" Naruto yelled, thrusting his hand into the belly of the dog. "Rasengan!"

He pushed the sphere deeper and deeper into the creature, until it began to spin in the air, furiously. The Rasengan left Naruto's hand, lifting the dog with it. The dog spun continuously until it hit a brick wall that seemed to belong to some apartment store combination building. The wall cracked slightly as the creature hit the ground. A small puncture wound was made in its chest, yet large amounts of blood flowed into a pool formation beneath it.

"That's a weird attack," Ichigo replied. He walked over to the dog, as Naruto's clone vanished. Ichigo stepped in the blood and kicked the creature over onto its belly, to reveal a gaping hole blown through its back. Ichigo stared in amazement. "How the hell did that happen?"

"It's because," Naruto started.

"Nevermind," Ichigo interrupted. "I don't want to hear any more explanations of any crap anymore."

Naruto grumbled at Ichigo for ruining his shining moment. "Anyway, we haven't seen this kind of creature before," Naruto acknowledged.

"What, a dog?"

"No," Naruto replied. "Look, it doesn't look like a dog." He was right.

This creature walked on all fours. Its face was much narrower than a normal dog's and was almost triangular. Its rows of teeth were spread out, more like a dog shark than a dog. It had no fur; it looked more like rotting flesh. Blood stained its skin, indicating that it's been there for a couple days at least. Its eyes were black holes, and gave you an eerie feeling just by looking at them. Its mouth was opened, blood gagging its throat, as it slowly died. The sounds were stomach turning as the creature struggled to hold onto life, blood pouring from its wounds.

"I almost feel sorry for it," Naruto remarked.

"Let's just go," Ichigo suggested.

Agreeing, Naruto and Ichigo grabbed their weapons, sheathed them, and continued their long walk down Old Silent Hill.

Many minutes passed, all without talk. Without showing any kind of emotion, Naruto was secretly quite angry with Ichigo. Yet he walked on, not letting Ichigo see through his stone cold face. He focused on staring straight ahead, unblinking. _Dang,_ he thought. _We never finished our fight. Maybe I should just pick another fight with him. I'll beat him down this time._ He focused on his thoughts for a while longer as they walked. _No, that's not right. I have to focus on finding Sasuke right now._ So, resolved, Naruto continued to walk, a fire of determination burning in his heart.

They quickly came to an intersection. A few cars were parked on the sides of the street, lights off, like they hadn't been run in months. A traffic light hung above them, lightless as well. It swung back and forth slightly, making small squeaking sounds. Naruto glanced around, growing nervous. "Where are we now?" he asked.

"I see a map booth," Ichigo replied. Walking over to it, he glanced inside. "Damn."

"What?" Naruto asked, his nerves growing further.

"It's so freaking dusty!" Ichigo took the sleeve of his robe and wiped the dust off the glass protector. He observed the map within, and then reported to Naruto, "We're on Bachman Road."

"And where's the school?"

After a quick glance, Ichigo said, "On Midwich Street. It's two streets over to the East."

"So we're almost there?"

"No," Ichigo replied bluntly. "It's at the other end of Midwich. We have to go two streets over, and then travel all the way down the street. And by the looks of it, Midwich is just about the longest street in this area of town."

"Area?" Naruto groaned. "What does that mean? We're in Silent Hill, aren't we?"

"Old Silent Hill," Ichigo replied. "There's Old Silent Hill, the Lakeside, and Central Silent Hill. And some stuff on the outskirts, like a graveyard and things like that."

"How do you know all that?"

After a pause, Ichigo replied, "I'm looking at a map."

Feeling stupid, Naruto said, "Yeah, I know!"

"What I want to know," Ichigo began. "Is where everyone else is. Toshiro should be around here with his group."

"Who?" Naruto asked.

"Toshiro Hitsugaya is the captain of Squad Ten in the Thirteen Court Guard Squads of the Soul Society."

"Oh, he's the guy leading your group, right?"

"I guess," Ichigo replied.

"Let's get to that school," Naruto suggested, beginning to walk to the East.

"Hold it," Ichigo said.

"What is it?" Naruto asked impatiently.

"Now you're facing North."

"So?"

"When we were facing South, Midwich was to the East. Now we're facing North, so Midwich is to the West." Ichigo explained.

"Whatever," Naruto said. "Just take me to the school."

Ichigo nodded, and they began to walk to the West, heading towards the school.

They walked down the street, making slightly more conversation than earlier. Even so, Naruto's rage had not subsided. It was merely put off until later. He still wanted to beat Ichigo down.

They walked for a short distance when Naruto glanced over to his left to see a dark alleyway leading down from them. Ichigo passed through it, but Naruto stopped to gaze within it. Noticing that Naruto had stopped, Ichigo joined him, staring down the alley.

"What's wrong?" Ichigo asked.

"I'm getting a weird feeling about this alley," Naruto replied, shaking slightly.

"Yeah," Ichigo said, shrugging. "This whole town kind of gives me that feeling."

Naruto ignored Ichigo and stepped between the walls. "Hey," Ichigo called. Naruto didn't listen. "Damn." Ichigo followed Naruto inside. He sped up a bit to catch up to Naruto. "Hey, where do you think you're going?"

"I just want to see what's in here," Naruto replied, not even looking at Ichigo.

"What about the school?" Ichigo asked. Naruto ignored him.

A constant squeaking sound emerged from the fog. Now intrigued himself, Ichigo stopped talking, and followed Naruto deeper inside. They moved slowly, cautiously. They turned a corner to find an overturned wheelchair, lying on its side. Its bent wheel was spinning nonstop. In the seat, a puddle of blood was stained, and spilt onto the pavement.

They glanced at it, and then brushed past it. As they moved farther away, the squeaking began to cease. They shifted down the alley, ending up in a larger area, much like a maze, the walls being fences. They easily reached the other side, and continued on. They ended up at a large brick wall.

"Great," Ichigo groaned. "So what was the point of even coming in here?"

"I," Naruto began, shocked. "I know that something weird was in here."

"Screw it!" Ichigo yelled, leaping high into the air, landing on the top of the brick wall. "I'll find the damn school from here!" He looked from side to side, in every direction. After a pause, he jumped back down.

Naruto had an anxious look on his face. "Well? What did you see?"

"It," Ichigo replied, irritated. "Was all fog. You can't see a freaking thing up there!"

"I see."

"So let's go back to the main road. Thanks for this useless little detour," Ichigo growled angrily.

"Shut up!" Naruto snapped.

They moved through the fence yard and back through the alley. As they passed the bloody wheelchair, they noticed that the wheel had stopped moving. They disregarded it, then reentered the entrance, and were back on the main road, and continued their journey to the school.

Naruto rubbed his stomach. The pain from when Ichigo kneed him hadn't subsided yet. He tried to make it as least noticeable as possible. He glared at Ichigo, wondering what his real powers are. _I remember back in the forest,_he thought. _He said Bankai. What's Bankai? He was emitting a lot of chakra. I know that I haven't seen all that he could do._ Still, Naruto followed Ichigo.

"We're almost to the end," Ichigo announced. He nodded to the fog ahead. "Then we just make a left up here, and we'll be on Midwich Street."

Naruto smiled. "Good, I'm getting bored. We've been walking for hours!"

"It hasn't been that long," Ichigo argued. He sighed. "But I know what you mean."

The fog began to clear as they got closer. Once they reached the end, their faces contorted in shock and disbelief.

"There's no way," Naruto whispered.

Ichigo's eyes bulged from his head, as he stared at the road, speechless.

The road just stopped. It looked like the street was ripped from the ground, leaving nothing but a deep pit. The fog obscured the other side, making it impossible to tell how long, or deep, the pit was. Nearby was a house, just barely hanging on to the edge. A few feet from that was a car with the trunk open. Skid marks led from the street to the car's tires.

Ichigo kicked a loose pebble down the pit. After a few seconds Ichigo gave up even trying to listen for the impact. Naruto stared in shock.

"Now what?" Naruto asked, turning to Ichigo.

"We can't cross," Ichigo replied. "We can't even see the other side." He began to think for a moment. _Although, Soul Reapers can use Reishi to walk on the air, so I can carry Naruto over to the other side._

"Then," Naruto said, getting into a jumping stance. "We just have to jump it!"

"Hey, hold on!" Ichigo called out, but it was too late. Naruto had already begun to run, and before Ichigo could chase after him, Naruto was already in the air. "Damn!" Ichigo jumped in after him, the wind flowing through his hair. Ichigo felt his stomach lurch as he fell. Naruto was a bit further ahead. "Damn, he jumped farther than me! I can't catch him unless I move faster!" In a blinding speed, Ichigo dashed towards Naruto, catching him. Ichigo's eyes bulged in surprise. "I can't stand!" After a short pause, he yelled to Naruto, "Hey, make a shadow clone now!"

Naruto obeyed, fear in his eyes. They seemed to fall forever, but Naruto made a clone, and Ichigo, holding Naruto, jumped off the clone, moving at the same blinding speed as before.

Naruto's head jerked as Ichigo moved. Naruto continued to make clones as Ichigo bounced off of them. Eventually, they reached the top.

Ichigo landed on his feet, and threw Naruto to the ground. "What the hell were you thinking?" Ichigo yelled.

"I was thinking of the only solution!" Naruto snapped. "Besides, what were you thinking? I can't stand? What the heck does that mean?"

Ichigo was taken aback. He hesitated, and then replied, "Soul Reapers can use Reishi, or spirit particles, to stand on the air."

Shocked, Naruto said, "That's so cool!"

With a solemn look on his face, Ichigo said, "Yeah, but I couldn't do it this time."

"What? Why?"

"I don't know," Ichigo replied. "I can only think that it's this town. There's no other reason for it."

"Man," Naruto sighed. "This is weird. Something in this place is screwing up our radios, your air standing thing, Kiba's nose, and Neji's Byakugan. Why?"

"I don't know."

"But how did you move in mid air?" Naruto asked, anxiously.

"What do you mean?"

"You moved in mid air! I jumped farther than you, but you still caught me!"

"Oh," Ichigo said. "That's called Flash Step. It's a technique that Soul Reapers can use."

"Aw, man!" Naruto sighed. "I want to be a Soul Reaper! You Have so many cool Jutsu!"

"It isn't Jutsu."

"Whatever!"

Ichigo sighed, and sat down. "What do we do now?"

Naruto suddenly remembered their new problem. "Oh, yeah. I have no idea. Is there another road?"

"I don't remember," Ichigo replied. "All I remember seeing is that Finney Street leads to Midwich Street. We're on Finney now, but we can't get to Midwich."

"Let's look for a map booth," Naruto suggested.

"There aren't any around here," Ichigo informed Naruto.

"How do you know that?"

"This is a residential area. Map booths are around those business like areas."

Naruto looked around, finding houses and lawns. "Oh, you're right! I didn't even notice that we got into this kind of area!" He paused. "So what do we do now?"

"We keep asking that," Ichigo replied. "But I don't know. Maybe we should try and find another street."

"What's that?" Naruto asked, referring to the parked car near the edge of the pit.

"That's a car," Ichigo replied.

Naruto, interested, moved over to the car and looked inside. "A car?" He opened the door. Ichigo glanced over, intrigued that the door actually opened. "It's so weird looking. How does it run?"

"With gasoline," Ichigo explained.

"What's that?" Naruto asked as he moved the side handle bar up and down.

"It's put in the engine, and the explosions cause the pistons inside to move. That makes the energy for the car to move."

Naruto looked horrified. "It explodes?" he exclaimed.

"Not the whole car, you idiot!" Ichigo snapped. "Just the engine."

"The engine explodes?" Naruto's voice was full of shock as he tried to grasp the concept of an engine.

"No!"

"Wait; is it like the engines on a boat?"

"Pretty much," Ichigo replied, relieved that Naruto had an example to work with.

"Oh, because I was on a boat once, on my first real mission as a ninja. I don't count all those stupid, weed picking, fence painting missions."

"You have to paint fences as a ninja?"

"Only the real low rank ninja do."

"So," Ichigo began. "You're low rank?"

"Yeah, I'm Genin!" Naruto snapped. "And I still kicked your ass!" Naruto got out of the car, getting a few inches from Ichigo's face, staring angrily into his eyes.

Ichigo laughed and backed away. "Bite me!"

This only made Naruto angrier, but he stepped down as well, and slipped back into the car. He fumbled around for a minute, then asked, "Where's the pull thing?"

"The what?"

"The string that you pull to start the engine."

"That's only in a boat," Ichigo replied. "You need keys in a car."

"Where are those?"

"I don't know!" Ichigo snapped. "Besides, it looks pretty run down; I don't think it'll even work right now."

The sides of the car had deep scratches, leaving only a metal color, stripping the car of its paint. "That sucks!" Naruto complained as he kicked the dashboard. A small compartment opened up, and many papers flew out, landing softly on the passenger seat, and all over the floor.

"A secret compartment?" Naruto asked, astonished.

"No," Ichigo answered. "It's the glove compartment. It's a little space to put things, like your car's registration."

Naruto shuffled through the papers, glancing over each one. "It's all stupid notes that some guy left. Here's a recipe for a kind of cake."

Ichigo grabbed a few papers. "It's all junk, we should just go." But something caught Ichigo's eye. "Look at this, Naruto!" Naruto glanced over Ichigo's shoulder. "It's a map!"

"Of what?" Naruto asked.

"Of your basement," Ichigo replied sarcastically. "What do you think of what? Of Silent Hill!"

Sure enough, Ichigo was holding a paper map of Old Silent Hill. The edges were torn from aging, and seemed like it was very delicate.

"What luck!" Naruto said, gleefully. "So what now?"

Ichigo read the map. "Hey, do you have a pen or something in that bag?"

"Yeah," Naruto answered, pulling a red marker from his pouch. "What do you need it for?"

Ichigo slid his finger through Finney Street, until he got to the end. There, he opened the marker, and put a big red "X" on the street.

"Why'd you do that?" Naruto asked.

"We don't want to make the same mistake twice," Ichigo replied. "So let's see what's next." He studied the map and replied, "Okay, so if we go back to the Finney Bachman intersection, we should go south from there."

"What was Bachman?" Naruto asked.

"That was where we came from," answered Ichigo.

"I thought that was Nathan Avenue."

"It was, but once we moved into Old Silent Hill, the street became Bachman Road."

Naruto nodded, understanding. "So we go all the way back?" He asked, dreadfully.

"Yeah," Ichigo replied solemnly. "We might as well get going." Naruto agreed and followed Ichigo as they continued to walk.

Only a few minutes passed before Naruto started a conversation. "So I was thinking." Ichigo turned his head to face him. "You think we should name those monsters?"

"Name them?" Ichigo sounded surprised. "Why?"

"You know," Naruto replied. "There is definitely more than one kind of monster, so it could get confusing."

"So," Ichigo began. "I'll call that dog Fred, and I'll call that armless thing Zack." Then he gasped dramatically. "Oh, damn! But I killed them! Oh no, they're dead!"

Naruto gave a blank stare. "That's not what I meant, jerk. I meant we should name the different species of monster."

Ichigo shrugged. "If that's what you want to do with your free time, then be my guest."

Naruto thought for a moment. "Those dog type things can just be called a dog."

Ichigo snickered. "Very creative."

"Shut up! What else would I call it?"

Ichigo shrugged again. "Something better. But I don't really care, so you can call it whatever you want."

Naruto turned away. "I will. I don't care what you think!" He was silent for a moment, thinking about more names. "And that armless one can be called an acid."

"An Acid?"

"Yeah, that's what it shoots out of its chest, right?" Naruto asked. "So that's a great name for it. For someone who doesn't care, you seem to have a lot of complaints."

"I don't really care," Ichigo said.

Naruto ignored him as they walked. "I wonder how many species there are."

"It doesn't matter," Ichigo said. "I'll beat them all."

"Yeah," Naruto agreed. "I'm going to do whatever it takes to find Sasuke!"

"Good," Ichigo said. "Because it looks like we'll need all that determination if we're going to get out of here."

"Don't worry," Naruto reassured. "I don't plan on dying just yet!" He wore a huge grin as he gave a thumbs up to Ichigo.

"Yeah," Ichigo replied. "Try to avoid dying."

Naruto chuckled as they continued to walk. Quickly after that, they reached the alley that they entered earlier. They passed it without even a second glance. As they passed, a sharp static erupted.

"It's a monster," Naruto said, alarmed.

"I know," Ichigo replied. He began to draw Zangetsu. The static got louder as a Dog emerged from the fog. It swayed back and forth, almost as if it was drunk.

It saw the two standing there, and began to stagger towards them, obtaining new targets. Fresh blood dripped from its mouth. It didn't look like it was its own blood. It growled menacingly as it picked up speed.

Naruto drew a shuriken and instantly threw it, digging into the Dog's head. It collapsed to the ground, new blood spewing onto the pavement. However, it quickly got back up and charged at full speed. It leapt, scratching Naruto on the back as they tried to dodge. The cut was red with blood, but not deep enough for any to come out.

Ichigo howled as he leapt into the air with Zangetsu, bringing it down hard on the creature's spine. It snapped with a sickening crack, as blood exploded onto Ichigo's face, staining his clothes. He landed nicely on his feet, and sheathed his blade.

Naruto touched his wound. "Damn, and I just got these clothes. I need to ask the Pervy Sage to get me another set."

The Dog squirmed as it tried to move, but with no success, due to a cracked spine. It glared at Ichigo, trying to bite him, until its movements slowed. Its eyes closed slowly as it died.

"Those things are so creepy," Naruto said. Ichigo nodded, and they walked on.

"I wonder where they come from," Ichigo said.

"I don't know," Naruto replied. "I still think it's part of Orochimaru's experiments."

"Yeah, you were saying," Ichigo answered. "He sounds like a creep. A real low life."

Naruto nodded. "He is. I just want to beat the crap out of him."

They quickly arrived at the intersection, and made a turn south. They walked for a while dealing with all the Dogs that showed up. There weren't many. In fact, there barely seemed to be any at all. Still, they moved through the town, occasionally glancing at a café or apartment building. They moved through, exchanging only a few words, both eager to get to their destination. They soon arrived at another intersection.

"Where's this?" Naruto asked.

Ichigo pulled out the map. "This is the Bachman Matheson intersection. If we make a right here, we'll get to Midwich Street."

Naruto nodded as Ichigo put away the map. They both walked, not even bothered by the reappearing monsters.

They walked for a few more minutes, until Naruto said, "Hey."

Ichigo looked over. "What is it?"

"Isn't it strange?"

"What?"

"We fought against that Acid earlier, by the bridge, but ever since then, the only things we've found are Dogs," Naruto pointed out. "Isn't that a little weird?"

"I suppose," Ichigo replied. "Maybe the Dogs are like grunts or something."

"Could be."

Nevertheless, they continued to walk down Matheson Street, anxious to find Midwich Street. They conversation died there, and barely was kept up, until Naruto gave up trying to talk at all.

As they walked, they saw another street to their right. It, like all the others, was obscured by fog. But more houses could be seen, with some trees in front yards. Many fences surrounded those yards, but not a soul was seen anywhere.

They only traveled a little ways longer until they came to the end of Matheson Street. And, much to their dismay, they saw this street shared the same fate as Finney Street. They gaped, quite disappointed.

"How did this happen?" Naruto growled.

"I don't know," Ichigo replied. "But it's pissing me off more than Rukia at the hot springs!"

"The what?" Naruto asked, a little taken aback.

"Nothing," Ichigo snapped. After a pause, Ichigo suggested, "Let's go back."

"And go where?" Naruto asked, upset that more walking was involved.

"If we go south from the last intersection we were at, we can get to another street that will lead us to Midwich Street."

Naruto groaned miserably. "This sucks!" Even so, he followed Ichigo through the fog, heading back to the intersection. As they walked, Naruto saw the street they passed earlier. He grabbed Ichigo. "Hey, let's go down here!"

Confused, Ichigo asked, "Why? There's nothing there."

Angry, Naruto snapped, "Hey, I followed you to Finney Street and it was a dead end! Now I followed you through Matheson, and that was a dead end too! Now it's my turn!"

Sighing, Ichigo said, "Fine."

Ichigo let Naruto lead him down the new street. Ichigo glanced at the map. "This is Levin Street. I wonder what's down here."

"That's what we're going to find out," Naruto answered.

The street was filled with houses and lawns, which they were not used to seeing in this town. Even so, all the houses looked run down and beaten up. All the houses had the same structure and was quite boring looking.

"So," Ichigo complained. "This sucks!"

As he said that, they passed a house that was different from all the others. The only difference was a doghouse out in the front yard. Inside was lots of dry blood, and some kind of organ rotting away.

Ichigo became disgusted, and Naruto ran away. Ichigo called after him, "Where are you going?"

Naruto ran to a nearby tree and began to vomit onto the grass. His insides burned as he puked, but he couldn't stop. The smell was so awful that even the slightest reminder made him throw up.

"But," Ichigo began to think out loud. "Where's the dog?"

Sure enough, a static erupted in Naruto's pocket. Ichigo got ready, drawing Zangetsu. His blade had a red tint to it now, blood splashed all over it. The Dog staggered from the fog. Ichigo used Flash Step, getting into the Dog's face, and using a horizontal slash, he killed it in one strike. More blood exploded onto the pavement, and all over the grass. The trees' trunk became stained red.

Naruto walked over to the corpse. "That's horrible," he said as he gagged. The smell was still caught in his throat.

Ichigo sheathed Zangetsu and walked over to the doghouse. Naruto watched, curious. Ichigo looked inside.

"What the heck are you doing?" Naruto yelled.

"This doghouse seems weird to me," Ichigo replied. "Like, why is it here?"

"Who cares?"

"I do! No other house in this whole town has a doghouse!" Ichigo peered inside. Smiling, he reached inside, pulling out something shiny. "See what I mean?" He held up a key.

"How would you even think to do something like that?" Naruto asked, amazed.

"Yeah," Ichigo replied. "But where does it go?" He glanced at the house. "This is the only thing I can think of."

"I'll bet it's for the car!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Good guess," Ichigo said. "But I'll bet it's to this house." He stepped up the few stairs as Naruto followed.

"Well I bet it's for the car," Naruto said.

"Want to bet on it?" Ichigo asked.

"Sure!" Naruto grinned, sure that he's right.

"What are the stakes?" Ichigo asked.

Naruto thought for a moment. Then a gasped, just getting an idea. "I know! The loser has to buy the Ramen when we get back to the Village Hidden In The Leaves!"

Ichigo grinned back. "All right!" Ichigo slipped the key into the lock. He smiled. "So far so good." He turned they key, and the door clicked open.

"Damn," Naruto groaned.

Ichigo turned the knob and opened the door. Together, Ichigo and Naruto stepped into the dark house.


	8. Chapter 8: Dead Ends

Chapter VIII

**Dead Ends**

The inside of the house was dark and damp. The air felt heavy, and the windows were closed. It was hard to believe that anyone had lived here before. They stood in a small hallway that leads into a living room. Behind that was a kitchen, with the wall opened up so you could see from one room into the other. There was a counter to their right with some kind of bottle on top of it. Barely any light shone through, giving the house a creepy feeling.

"It smells in here!" Naruto complained, sniffing the air. "Kind of like some kind of rotten couch!"

"A rotten couch?" Ichigo repeated. "What are you talking about?" He glanced from wall to wall, observing the various paintings that hung from them.

"Like a couch that gets all mildewy and nasty," Naruto answered. "You know, it smells like it went bad, like food or something."

Ichigo shook his head. He began to walk down the hall, noticing a door to his right.

Naruto caught something in the corner of his eye. "What's this?" he asked, picking up the bottle that lay on the counter.

Ichigo took it and looked at the label. "It's a nutrition drink," he read. "Says it stimulates your cells to regenerate much faster."

"What's that mean?"

"It heals us," Ichigo replied. He tossed it to Naruto, who just barely managed to catch it, not expecting Ichigo to throw it. "You should put it in your bag. We might need it."

"Okay," Naruto did as he was told.

They both walked down the hallway, arriving in the living room. There was a coffee table in the middle, surrounded by two couches. A television was set up on the wall. Another counter was to their left, a lamp and a notebook on top of it. If they continued straight down, they would arrive in the kitchen, but they stopped there.

Ichigo took a look at the counter, picking up the notebook. "Someone wrote in here."

"What?"

"It looks like a journal," Ichigo reported. "But look, it's dated from five years ago. Whoever wrote this is long gone."

"Read it," Naruto suggested.

"I arrived at this house," Ichigo read. "It has a horrible smell." Naruto coughed. "I have no idea what's wrong with this place. These monsters are everywhere! Mostly those dog like creatures. I know that Cheryl is at the school." Naruto's eyes lit up at the mention of the school. "I'm going to find her and take her home. I hope whoever reads this will know, if they haven't discovered the monsters yet, be aware, they are here. And watch the skies. There is one kind of monster that flies. I find those to be the most dangerous. I left the key I found back in the doghouse. Someone else may need it." Ichigo paused, and then read the signature. "Harry Mason."

They were silent for a moment. Finally, Naruto spoke, "So this Harry guy was looking for his daughter here. And he went to the school to find her."

"It didn't say daughter," Ichigo replied. "It could have been his sister or friend."

"I guess," Naruto said. "But what was that about the flying monsters?"

"We haven't seen any," Ichigo explained. "But I guess we'll have to keep our eyes open from now on. Besides, we have a radio. I'll bet this Harry Mason didn't have a radio to warn him."

Naruto nodded, and then moved into the kitchen. "What else can we find here?"

"Let's take a look around."

Ichigo and Naruto looked around, trying to find anything useful or suspicious. All they found was some documents about the mortgage on the house and other useless things. The cabinets were empty, and there was nothing on the couches.

Naruto was shuffling through the kitchen when he let out a weird noise. Ichigo rushed over to help, and found him holding some kind of white box with a label on it. "What's this?" Naruto asked. He examined it for a second. "Oh, it's a med-kit!"

"Good," Ichigo replied. "We'll need that too." Naruto placed it in his pouch.

Naruto went into the living room. "Did you find anything in here?" he asked.

"Nothing," Ichigo replied. "But I'd say we spent enough time in here. Let's get going." Naruto nodded. "We can use this place as a base in case we need to restore our wounds, or if we need to rest."

Naruto agreed, and they began to leave when Naruto called out, "Wait. We didn't try this door yet." He was pointing to the door in the hallway that they saw when they first walked in.

Naruto tried to open it, but the knob wouldn't budge. "Oh, not again!" he groaned.

"Shut up," Ichigo replied. "Just use this key; I'm sure it works for this door too!" He handed Naruto the house key.

Naruto anxiously turned the key, but it wouldn't even fit. "It won't work," he complained.

"Oh well," Ichigo replied. "Let's go anyway. We're looking for the school, not whatever's behind this door."

Naruto agreed once again, and they exited the house through the front door. The ash hadn't slowed, it still fell rapidly, obscuring the view down the street.

"I'll mark this place on our map," Ichigo announced. "That way, we'll remember where it is." He placed a red circle around the area on Levin Street that they were.

"Right!" Naruto exclaimed. "So where do we go next?"

"Well," Ichigo began. "It would definitely take too long if we searched this whole area trying to find a certain road."

"So we're giving up?" Naruto asked, amazed.

"Of course not," Ichigo replied. "We're just going to split up."

Naruto became even more amazed. "Split up? But how will we communicate?"

"We can't."

"Then how will this work?"

"This is our new base," Ichigo replied. "After one hour, we'll both meet back here. No excuses, just get back here in an hour and we'll be fine."

"But how will we know when an hour is up?" Naruto asked.

"Use your best judgment. This is the best way. We can cover twice as much ground this way, and maybe meet up with the others." He paused. "This reminds me, if you see anyone, tell them about this house, so we all know where to go."

Naruto nodded. "I get it."

"So I'll go up and down this street, while you go on Bloch Street. Search everywhere."

Naruto took a look at the map. "So I go south onto Matheson, then east, then south again."

"Yeah."

"And that's Bloch Street?"

"Yeah."

"All right," Naruto stood up. "Let's get going!" He began to walk in the direction of his street, looking back at Ichigo. Ichigo took of using Flash Step and was out of sight in an instant. Naruto walked through the fog, holding his kunai in his hand. He was fumbling with it, head down. He rubbed his fingers along the blade, twirled it in his hand, and even tossed it in the air.

After a short while his pace began to slow, and he eventually kneeled down and sighed. "Man," he said. "This sucks. I'm so bored."

As he said this, the radio began to static violently. Naruto sighed again, as he got back up. "I can't get a break!"

An angry Dog emerged from the mist, noticing Naruto standing there. It began to attack, but Naruto was much quicker and stronger. With his kunai, he easily ripped through the Dog's skin, and gutted it. Its blood spilled out as traces of its cut up organs dropped to the floor.

It laid there, blood flowing around it, as it quickly died. Naruto pressed on, not wanting to stop for fear that more monsters would find him. He was nearing the end of the street. The intersection was barely visible. As he got closer, he squinted harder. He finally got close enough. "Good," he said. "At least this one isn't broken." He turned and began to head down Bachman Road.

He walked for a few feet and had to stop, as this road was ripped out of the ground too. "Oh, what the hell?" Naruto exclaimed angrily. He stomped his foot on the ground. "I still have about forty five minutes to look around before I need to go back. What should I do?" He kicked a rock off the edge of the pit as he thought.

He started walking back, his hands in his pockets. "All right, maybe I'll just take a look around town. I mean, I didn't find anything, and we're already split up, what could go wrong?" He paused. "But where should I look?" Thinking, he finally came up with an answer. "I know! That alley from before. I know something was there, but we couldn't find anything. I'm going back!"

Determined, Naruto walked north, up Bachman Road. He met a few Dogs along the way, and killed them with ease. His fear of the monsters had faded away into the back of his mind. Naruto passed the café along his travels. He glanced at it, noticing that one of the windows had been broken.

"I guess I could always check this place out too," Naruto said as he stepped through the broken glass, careful not to cut himself. Once he was inside he glanced around.

The inside was completely normal. Aside from no one being in here, and the broken window, this looked just like a normal café. He was standing on a booth, and beyond that was a little bar, with stoves and cooking materials behind that.

Naruto jumped down, and walked over to the bar. He rubbed his hands along it, noticing how smooth it was. "So this is a café," he said. "I wonder what you do in here." He walked around, taking the place in. A red object caught his eye. He walked over to it, and noticed it was yet another notebook. The pages were worn and faded, but the writing was still legible. Naruto read out loud, "I'm writing this for anyone else who might experience the strange events in this town."

Naruto looked at the bottom, and saw the name, Harry Mason. "This guy again?" Even so, he continued to read. "I don't know what's going on here. My daughter is missing. I have no idea where Cheryl might be. I just woke up in this café and there was a police officer here. She said her name was Cybil Bennett. She gave me a gun. I found some supplies here too. For some reason, a have a broken radio that statics when any creatures come by. There's one that broke into this place, but I managed to kill it. I have to find my daughter, and if anyone else reads this, please help."

Naruto put down the notebook, and glanced over at the broken window. "Something did break in here. But what? And where is this Harry Mason guy? This seems like it might have been his first entry in the notebook. But why does he only write in notebooks that he finds? Why can't he just take the thing with him?" Naruto wondered about a lot of different things as he walked away from the bar. "Well, there's not much else I can do right now. Not here, anyway." He stepped out of the café and made his way back to the alley. He walked past the café and up Bachman Road. No more creatures came to impede Naruto's progress. He traveled freely, and quickly arrived at the entrance to the alley.

He peered inside, unsure if he should go in or not. As he stood there, a deep moan emerged from the alley. Naruto took a step inside. "I guess I have no choice. There's no other way to the school, and this alley is just plain weird." He walked further inside. He turned a corner to find the bloody wheelchair, which had stopped squeaking.

He shifted passed it, a dark feeling creeping up his spine. He began to grow nervous the deeper he went. He shuffled near the wall, and made his way down the alley. He moved into the fence area, and started to shift through it.

The same moan pierced the air, much louder and closer this time. Naruto glanced around, in fear of what lurks behind him. He saw nothing, and wiped a bead of sweat from his forehead. Still, he continued to move through the fence area.

He wound up at the brick wall again, a dead end. "Something's not right," Naruto whispered.

The moan turned into a fierce growl from behind him. Turning around, Naruto saw a Dog with starving eyes locked on him. Naruto began to draw a shuriken. "I'm not in the mood for this," he said, bored.

The Dog charged, and Naruto went to circle him, hoping to attack its left flank. A sharp pain exploded into half of Naruto's body. He yelped and dropped to floor, his shuriken sliding a few feet from him. He glanced up to see a huge brick wall.

"Damn," he muttered. "I can't move in here, it's too narrow!" He got up, and faced his enemy. He swung his hand, yelling, "Not a problem!" Nothing happened. Shocked, Naruto held up his hand. "No! Where's my shuriken?" He saw it a few feet away. He rushed to it, when a Dog emerged from the fog and bit at his leg. Naruto felt a small amount of pain, as the Dog ripped through a piece of his clothing. He stopped to face it.

That's when he noticed that there were two Dogs now. "Crap," Naruto swore. "So you're the second one?" He glared at the Dog that bit his leg just now. "I guess I can just even these odds!"

Using the Shadow Clone Jutsu, two clones appeared beside Naruto. They all prepared to fight, when Naruto brushed up against one. "Move!" he ordered, trying to get past him.

"Shut up!" The clone yelled. "It's this guy! He won't let me get by!"

The other clone growled, "It's not my fault, the walls are too close!" He shuffled around, trying to get past the others.

The Dogs took advantage of this situation, and lunged at the defenseless Naruto. A clone disappeared in a puff of smoke, and the real Naruto was cut on the arm, yelping in pain.

Naruto grew angry. "Okay, now I'm going to beat you into a pulp!" Naruto threw his hand back, and prepared for the Rasengan. After getting a strong sized blue sphere in his palm, Naruto charged at one of the Dogs. It tried to dodge, but faced the same problem Naruto did. It scratched against the wall, and Naruto was able to hit it full force with the Rasengan. He pushed it deeper and deeper into the creature, as he pushed past broken bone and flesh. Blood exploded onto the street as the Dog collapsed in a heap of dead meat.

The second Dog growled at the loss of its partner. It attacked, immediately destroying the clone. The real Naruto charged himself, only to be knocked back by the Dog. He scratched his elbow, but got back up. "Damn," he grumbled. "I don't have to fight you!" He leapt over the creature, landing on top of the brick wall. He peered into the distance. He could only see fog. Even the streets were obscured by the falling ash. His foot slipped, and he nearly fell, but he managed to regain his balance. "That was close," he said, wiping sweat from his forehead.

The Dog rammed into the wall, causing it to shake slightly, but that was enough to force Naruto to lose his balance completely. He fell to the ground, but was able to land safely on his feet. He looked up just in time to see the Dog charging again.

Naruto spun around as the Dog leapt passed him, and then he swung his leg around, performing a roundhouse kick on the Dog's spine. Once he connected, Naruto could feel nothing but bone. Like there was no meat there all together.

The Dog shook its head, then reared back for another round. Naruto performed the Shadow Clone Jutsu once more. "Now try this!" He prepared for the Rasengan, yet again. The energy swirled around, materializing in his palm. He thrust it forward, aiming right for the creature's face.

The Dog learned from his partner's misfortune, however. It easily dodged to the side, but not enough to smack into the wall.

The Rasengan smashed into the wall, cracking a few bricks, and making a lot of smoke. Now Naruto could barely see the monster that was right in front of him. "Damn, what now?"

"Hey!" A voice called out. It belonged to the clone, which was lost somewhere in the new smoke.

Naruto closed his eyes to think quietly. The clone screamed, and Naruto yelled, "Will you shut up?" A slight change in the smoke burst a few feet from where Naruto was standing. "Damn, he must have gotten hit."

Then Naruto gasped, having an idea. "All right, let's go!" He took a shuriken, and threw it where the smoke changed. Small traces of blood spewed from the mist, and then dropped to the floor. Naruto waited for the Dog to attack. After three minutes, nothing happened.

Once the smoke dissipated, Naruto could see that his guess was right. The Dog lay there, motionless. "I knew it!" Naruto called out. "The smoke that changed was actually just the smoke from my clone being destroyed! Man, I'm smart!"

"You're still so damn cocky, kid," another voice mocked, emerging from behind him.

Naruto spun around to see Kiba and Renji standing in the alleyway. Kiba had a few scratches, and Renji's Shihakushô had blood stains splattered all over it. Renji's sword was also unsheathed in his hand. "Kiba! What are you doing here?"

"Well," he began. "We searched our spot for at least a couple hours, but when we went back, there was no one there!" His voice sounded angry. Akamaru barked along with him.

"That's what happened to Ichigo and me, but we did see Rock Lee and Orihime there," Naruto replied.

"I see," Renji said.

"Oh, Renji," Naruto said. "I forgot that you were with Kiba!"

"What?" Renji growled. "I've been here the whole time! How could you not have noticed?"

Naruto scratched his head. Laughing, he replied, "I don't know, sorry!"

"Where is Ichigo?" Kiba asked.

"Oh, that's right!" Naruto gasped. "We found a good base, if you want to know."

"A base?" Renji sounded surprised. "How? We couldn't even get into any of the buildings!"

"We had a key," Naruto explained. "Do you have a map?"

"Yeah, actually," Renji replied, pulling a map from his Shihakushô. "We found it at some gas station. The door was already opened."

Naruto pointed to Levin Street. "There's a Dog house on the lawns of one of the houses on this street. It's unlocked now, you can go inside."

Kiba and Renji looked stunned. "All right!" Kiba yelled. "Way to go, shrimp!"

Renji glared at Kiba. "Shrimp? The best you can come up with is shrimp?"

Kiba glanced at Renji. "It's just a little thing I say to Naruto to piss him off." Kiba looked at Naruto to see him staring at Kiba with a frustrated face. "See? It gets to him!"

"Nevermind!" Naruto exclaimed, irritated. "Just use this house whenever you're tired, or need to rest."

"What are you doing right now, anyway?" Renji asked.

"Ichigo and I are looking for the school," Naruto replied.

"It's a few streets that way," Kiba answered, pointed to the west. "What are you doing all they way over here?"

"Some roads are completely blocked off," Naruto said.

"What's that mean?" Renji asked.

"It means that you can't get through some roads!" Naruto exclaimed.

Renji became frustrated. "I know that, you idiot! Why are they impassable?"

Naruto shook his head. "I don't know. They just are. You can't get through. They're bottomless pits, and the other end is way out of sight."

"How can that be?" Kiba asked. "It doesn't make sense."

"This whole town doesn't make sense," Naruto said.

"So you're trying to find alternative routes?" Renji asked.

"Yeah."

"Yeah," Kiba began. "We searched all over Sanders Street. We couldn't find anything, and all of the buildings were locked! So we went back to the clinic to regroup. We waited for a few minutes, and no one showed up!"

"We went back too," Naruto explained. "But we saw Orihime and Bushy Brows there."

"Really?" Kiba said. "What did you do?"

"Well we didn't go back to our streets," Naruto explained. "We decided to come here. Actually, Ichigo and I decided to come here. I have no idea where Orihime and Bushy Brows went."

"How did we all get split up?" Renji asked.

"No one had a watch," Kiba replied. "So no one had any idea how long two hours was."

"Yeah," Renji agreed. "Anyway, where are you going now, Naruto? It doesn't look like you were heading to the school You're too far north."

"I decided to check out some other things first," Naruto answered.

"Fair enough," Renji said. "Well, Kiba and I are off. I'm sure you can handle yourself."

Naruto nodded. "Fine, but where are you guys going?"

"We don't know," Kiba answered. "We haven't decided."

"You should help me at the school," Naruto said. "I could use your help."

"That's what Ichigo is for," Renji said. "Wait, where is he?"

"We split up to find a street that will lead to the school," Naruto answered.

"Why are you even going to the school?" Kiba asked.

"Well," Naruto hesitated. "I think that Sasuke might be there."

Shocked, Kiba asked, "Sasuke? Really?"

Naruto nodded again. "He might be." Naruto seemed to stare off into space, deep in thought. "I don't know for sure though." He paused. "So have you seen anyone else since we all split up?"

"No," Renji replied.

"So it's just you two?"

"Two?" Kiba asked. Akamaru barked from behind Kiba's leg.

Naruto sighed. "Oh, right, sorry boy." He scratched Akamaru's ear. "You're the only good dog around."

"So you saw those monsters too?" Renji asked.

"The Dogs? Yeah, you too?"

Renji simply coughed as he held up his Zanpaku-tô. It was dripping from dark red blood.

"Got it," Naruto replied, understanding what Renji meant. "Okay, I'm going to head out now."

"Good luck with Sasuke," Kiba said.

"Thanks," Naruto replied.

And with that, they parted ways, Naruto walked out of the alley, and quickly lost sight of them. He stood in the entrance, staring at the sky. Ash fell on his face, leaving a small black mark. "Well," he began. "I couldn't find a way to the school. I have no choice but to go back." He turned to the right, and began to head towards the house on Levin Street.

***

Ichigo wandered for a while, aimlessly down Levin Street. So far, he found nothing but Dogs and houses. He was standing at the Levin Matheson intersection. "I wonder where Naruto is. I hope he found something, there's nothing here!"

He sat down. "I can't believe we can't get to the school, it's right over there!" He pointed randomly to the right. The fog obscured anything in that area, even if there was a school there, you wouldn't be able to tell.

"There's nothing left to do," Ichigo announced. "I guess I just have to go past this intersection too." He began to travel south, past the broken traffic light at the intersection. The southern side of the street was pretty plain. No more exciting then the first half.

A twig snapped, and Ichigo could just barely make out a Dog in the distance. Gritting his teeth, Ichigo drew Zangetsu. "Come on, I'll kick your ass!"

The Dog charged, which was predictable to Ichigo at this point. With a swift horizontal slash, he hacked off the beast's face. It crumpled to the floor, blood spurting everywhere. Ichigo felt a sickening feeling as his stomach lurched.

"Damn, all this blood is making me feel weird," Ichigo said. "There wasn't this much blood when I fought Byakuya at the Sokyoku!"

Still, Ichigo moved past the bleeding body, which lay limp as a large pool of blood enveloped it. Ichigo walked down the road, passing houses and lawns. "Everything looks the same!" Ichigo yelled.

He walked up to a house and tried the knob, but it didn't turn. He tried another house, only to have the same result. He tried another and another, until he had tried every house on this half of the street, but to no avail.

"Two things left to do," Ichigo sighed. "I can either go all the way down the street or go back to Naruto." Without hesitation, Ichigo walked down the end of the street. "I'm sure he's not back yet, anyway."

Ichigo walked down the street, the fog making everything in his sight blurry. He approached another intersection.

"Weird," Ichigo stated. "I should be at the intersection by now, but where is it?" As he walked, he saw that the intersection was no longer there. Instead, it was replaced with another large, bottomless pit.

"No!" Ichigo complained. "Dammit! What now?" He growled angrily. "There's no way to get to this school!" He kicked a rock as he turned away from the pit. "I guess I should just go back to Naruto."

Ichigo walked north, back in the direction of the house they were using as a base.

Ichigo walked quickly, so he could arrive before Naruto, making sure he wasn't late. He walked with speed, but didn't run. "I know I could use flash step right about now," Ichigo said to himself. "But if I move too fast, I could run right into a pit without even knowing, and I don't have Naruto's clones to get me out this time."

He started to pick up the pace, and began to jog. He passed house after house, fully focused on arriving at the house.

Suddenly, Ichigo felt a piercing pain on his ankle, as he fell to the floor, slamming his face into the pavement. Bits of blood dripped from Ichigo's nose. He wiped it off with his sleeve as he got back up, only to see a Dog hunched over him. It snapped at his neck, but Ichigo grabbed its face, holding it back as best as he could.

Its jaws snapped and snarled, rabid saliva flying everywhere. It pushed with all its might to reach Ichigo's neck, but Ichigo managed to hold it back.

Ichigo twisted the creature's neck, tossing it to the ground. Ichigo got up as quickly as he could, and drew Zangetsu. The Dog also regained its stance.

Ichigo smirked. His leg shook as blood poured from the puncture. "Damn, that hurts, you bastard!" The Dog ignored him as it charged. Ichigo lifted Zangetsu to protect himself, when another explosion of pain exploded onto his back. Blood sprayed the ground, as Ichigo fell to the floor. He used the blade of Zangetsu to stop his fall. He was down on one knee. Ichigo turned slightly to see a second Dog circling him.

"Crap," Ichigo sighed. "There's no way." The Dogs sensed his desperation, feeding off of it. "There's no way," he paused, then, full of excitement, Ichigo yelled, "There's no way I have to use Bankai on you bastards!" He stood up, and held Zangetsu in front of him with two hands. The cloth at the end wrapped itself around Ichigo's arms. He glowed a blue aura, concentrating on gathering power. "Ban," he started, but was interrupted yet again, by a huge explosion.

The blast came from beside Ichigo, ripping a Dog to pieces. The Dog's head rolled to the ground. Confused, Ichigo stopped gathering power, and looked to find the source of the explosion. "Naruto?" he called out.

Ichigo saw a man with very large spiky black hair. Ichigo looked for other details, but the hair was all he could notice, as the man literally vanished into thin air. It looked as if he had used flash step. Ichigo stared in confusion. All of a sudden, another explosion erupted behind Ichigo. Once Ichigo turned, he saw that half of the second Dog's body was ripped off. But it was nowhere to be found. Half of its body was missing.

Ichigo stared in wonder as the Dog bled to death in a matter of seconds.

A few minutes went by, and Ichigo fell to his knees, the pain returning to him in his back. His own blood spilled to the floor. "Damn, I need to get back," he paused. "But who the hell was that?" Ichigo began to limp back to the intersection.

He slowly made his way back to the house. He limped his way past the fence, and up the stairs. He opened the door and stepped inside. He limped over to the couch, and fell on top of it. He lay on his stomach, so the blood wouldn't spray all over the couch. He waited for a few minutes, until he began to doze off. His head began to spin as he fell asleep.

He was woken up by a hard shake. Opening his eyes slowly, Ichigo noticed Naruto was standing over him. He had blood on his face and leg. Black ash stained his face. "What took you so long?" Ichigo asked weakly.

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked. "It looks like you just got here."

"How can you tell?"

"You left the door open," Naruto replied. "What's wrong?"

"Let's see," Ichigo began. "My back exploded! What the hell do you think is wrong?"

"How did that happen?"

"A freaking Dog got me."

"A Dog got me in the back too," Naruto replied, showing Ichigo a deep gash on his back, which still bled.

"You seems fine to me," Ichigo groaned.

"Yeah, I'm okay," Naruto replied as he shut the front door. "But we should get to more important things. Did you find anything?"

"Yeah," Ichigo replied. Naruto's eyes lit up with hope. "But it wasn't a way to the school." Naruto's heart sank as he looked away to hide his disappointment. "I found someone."

Interested again, Naruto asked, "Someone? Like Neji?"

"No. It was someone else, that I don't know."

"What did he look like?" Naruto asked.

"He had spiky black hair. He was strong too."

Naruto yelled, "It was Sasuke!"

"That was Sasuke?" Ichigo asked. "But I thought Sasuke was your age, wasn't he?"

Confused, Naruto replied, "Yeah, he is."

"Then this guy wasn't Sasuke. He was a lot older. He was a full grown man. But he wasn't a monster. Well, he had monstrous strength," Ichigo chuckled.

"You fought him?" Naruto asked.

"No, he killed the two Dogs that were attacking me."

"What did he do to make him so strong?"

"He," Ichigo paused. "ripped one in half, and the other just exploded."

"Exploded?"

"As in nothing but the head was left," Ichigo explained.

"I know what an explosion is!" Naruto snapped. "Did you talk to him?"

"No, he left before I could get to him."

"And you just let him go?" Naruto asked.

"Of course not!" Ichigo yelled. "He just vanished. I couldn't even tell if he was moving really fast, like a flash step, or if it was something completely different."

"Someone as fast as you couldn't even keep track of this guy?" Naruto asked in amazement.

"This guy is real strong. I have no idea who he is, but I know that we're not alone in this town. Besides the monsters," Ichigo said.

"He wasn't from that other group that's supposed to meet up with you?" Naruto asked.

"If he was, he wasn't wearing a Shihakushô," Ichigo replied. "He also didn't have a Zanpaku-tô. So I don't think he was a soul reaper."

"Damn, this is getting more and more complicated," Naruto said. "And what are we supposed to do? We can't even get to the school!"

Ichigo nodded, understanding Naruto's frustration. "Let's look at the map." Ichigo took out the piece of paper in his pocket. He used the red marker to mark out the dead ends that he discovered. "And what about you, Naruto? Find anything?"

"No."

"Damn." Ichigo crossed out the street that Naruto was patrolling.

"I did run into Kiba and Renji though."

Intrigued, Ichigo asked, "Yeah? Where are they?"

"We went our own ways," Naruto replied.

"You dumbass! Why didn't you have them come here?"

"I told them!" Naruto snapped. "They wanted to go out on their own, not me!"

"Whatever," Ichigo sighed. "As long as you told them about the house." He paused. "Did they have anything to say?"

"No," Naruto replied. "They don't even know where they're going."

Ichigo fumbled around with the map. "What do we do now?"

"I have a good idea," Naruto said. "We could heal our wounds."

Staring blankly, Ichigo agreed. "Yeah, I guess that would be a good idea."

Naruto took the nutrition drink from his pouch. "This probably doesn't heal you as well as a first aid kit would," he said, as he gulped the drink down to the last drop. Then he reached into his pouch yet again and drew out the med kit. He opened it up, and began to work on Ichigo. As he worked, he felt a sting, and drew back.

"What's wrong?" Ichigo asked.

"My back stings," Naruto said.

"Let me have a look."

Naruto turned around for Ichigo to see. Much to Ichigo's surprise, the wound was being healed right in front of him. It quickly closed up, and became invisible. "Damn, that stuff works fast!"

"Yeah, I guess so," Naruto replied. He continued to work on Ichigo. "So I guess this med kit takes longer, but I'll bet it works better too."

"Yeah," Ichigo said, ignoring the occasional twinge of pain. "The label only says it speeds up the regeneration of cells. I'll bet it doesn't clean the wound. So once we get back to the Hidden Leaf Village, you should have a professional look at that." He paused. "Speaking of which, do you know what you're doing?"

"Of course!" Naruto snapped. "I've had training in this field too!"

Ichigo sighed, laid down, and put all his faith in Naruto.

After a few minutes, Ichigo could feel a bandage placed onto his back. Naruto sighed, "There, all done."

Ichigo sat up. "Thanks," he said. Naruto nodded. "I guess we should try something else," Ichigo said.

"Try what?"

"We need to find a new way to get to the school," Ichigo announced. He stood up and put Zangetsu on his back.

Naruto stared. "How are we going to do that?"

Ichigo shrugged. "I have no idea."

Naruto stared blankly. "Okay, that makes sense."

Ichigo walked over to the kitchen. He saw the door next to the bulletin board where they got their map. It had three locks on it. "If only we could get through here, but it's so obviously locked!" He kicked the door. Naruto walked over to him.

"I wonder where the keys are," Naruto said. He reached for the knob.

"Don't you ever learn?" Ichigo asked. "That's not going to work; we've tried it so many times before."

"I know," Naruto replied. Still, he grabbed the knob and turned. It clicked as it turned, and the door cracked open.

Ichigo and Naruto stared in disbelief. "What the hell?" Ichigo yelled. "How the hell does that work?"

"That's dumb!" Naruto yelled.

"Yeah, but I guess we shouldn't curse our own good luck," Ichigo said. "Besides, that Harry Mason guy was trying to get to the school. I'll bet he found the keys and unlocked this door."

"True," Naruto agreed.

They both eagerly emerged from the doorway, and entered a backyard. It had a round table with two chairs and an umbrella. It was completely fenced in, with a wooden fence, instead of a picket fence, like the front yards.

Ichigo took one step down, and they heard a siren in the distance. It was a monotone sound that got deeper and deeper. As it sounded off, the sky grew darker and darker. It got so dark that they could no longer even see their own hands. They stood in complete darkness as the siren stopped.

96


	9. Chapter 9: Midwich Street

Chapter IX

**Midwich Street**

Ichigo could hear his breaths as the darkness surrounded them. Not a thing could be seen ahead of them. The once visible backyard was covered in pitch black darkness. A creeping feeling engulfed Ichigo. His eyes began to dart back and forth. He couldn't see anything. He couldn't even tell if Naruto was beside him or not.

Ichigo heard rustling very close to him. "Naruto, that better be you, or I'm hacking!" Ichigo warned, reaching for Zangetsu.

"Don't worry, it is," Naruto replied.

The sound didn't stop. Naruto continued to rustle through something, making a lot of strange noises." Where is it? It's so hard to tell in this light!"

Ichigo waited until Naruto had finally stopped. A bright light pierced the overwhelming darkness. Its source came from Naruto. Ichigo noticed a flashlight on Naruto's chest pocket. "Where'd you get that?" Ichigo asked.

"Every ninja has to carry a flashlight," Naruto explained.

"Do you have another one?"

"Yeah, actually." Naruto handed Ichigo a spare light. "We're usually put into groups of three, so we're given a flashlight for ourselves, and one for each member of the team, just in case something happens to their lights." He opened the bag. "See? There's one more spare in here."

"That's some good news," Ichigo sighed. He clipped his flashlight onto his collar, and turned it on. Only a small area was lit up from where he was looking. "Doesn't help much, does it?" Ichigo asked.

"Better than nothing," Naruto remarked.

Ichigo shrugged and walked onto the lawn. "So we go through here."

"How do we do that?" Naruto asked. "It's all fenced in."

"These houses are completely surrounded by alleys," Ichigo answered. "This means that each house leads to an alley. So all we need to do," he paused, searching the farthest end of the fence. "is find the gate." Ichigo quickly located, and pushed open the gate.

"What's that?" Naruto said, glancing over at the table.

"What?" Ichigo asked.

"Something shone when my light passed over it." Naruto walked over to the table and picked up a small bottle. A huge smile locked on his face. "It's another nutrition drink!"

Ichigo smirked. "Great, we need as many of those as we can get." He motioned for Naruto to come over.

"Wait, not yet," Naruto said.

"What now?" Ichigo asked.

"There's another thing here. It's a box."

"What does it look like?" Ichigo asked. "Hold it up."

Naruto did as he was told, and Ichigo could see a red and white cardboard box, small enough to fit in your hand. "Let me see that," Ichigo instructed, taking the box from Naruto. On the top, printed clearly, was the words: Handgun Bullets.

"What are they?" Naruto asked.

"Handgun bullets, can't you read?"

"Yeah," Naruto replied sharply. "But what's a handgun?"

Sighing, Ichigo replied, "Well I guess I should be used to you not know what things are. A handgun is a weapon that shoots these things like projectiles."

"That's awesome!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Man, what do you have at the Village?" Ichigo asked.

"Shut up," Naruto yelled.

Ignoring Naruto, Ichigo replied, "Drop them, though, we won't need them."

"Why not?"

"We don't have a handgun," Ichigo said.

"Fine," Naruto complained. As Ichigo turned away, he stuffed the box into his pouch and joined Ichigo over by the gate.

Together, they stepped through the gate, and appeared in a long, dark alleyway. It was narrow and ominous. They stared down either way, not seeing anything in either direction. Ichigo checked his map. "All right, we go this way," he announced.

Naruto was not convinced. He argued, "How do you know that?"

Ichigo waved the map in the air. "Gee, I couldn't tell you."

Naruto became silent, as he followed Ichigo to the south end of the alley. They walked a few feet when s sharp static exploded in Naruto's pocket. The sound was louder than ever, and was much more violent.

"What the hell is going on?" Ichigo asked.

"It must be a monster," Naruto yelled over the static.

Ichigo felt a stab of pain as his shoulder was grazed with some kind of sharp object, such as a claw or knife. Small bits of blood dropped to the ground. "It's another Dog!" Ichigo yelled to warn Naruto. He unsheathed Zangetsu, and waited for the Dog to come back. Naruto stood at Ichigo's back, facing the opposite direction.

A flapping sound rushed in closer to them. "What the hell is that?" Ichigo asked.

Ichigo watched the ground intently, but saw nothing. Naruto yelped as his shoulder was grazed as well. Ichigo wondered what was going on. Then, in an instant, his eyes opened wide with the realization. "Naruto! It's in the air!"

Naruto glared in the pitch black sky. "A Dog?"

"No, the things that Harry Mason was talking about!" Ichigo's eyes darted back and forth, trying to find the creature. The flapping returned, and quickly scratched Ichigo yet again.

Frustrated, Ichigo yelled, "That's enough of this!" After analyzing where the flapping was coming from, Ichigo swung his blade, yelling, "Getsuga Tenshô!" A black and red surge of energy erupted from Ichigo's blade, exploding as it hit the creature. A loud thump was heard as it smacked the ground hard.

Naruto rushed over to the creature, observing it. It was definitely dead. "Wow," Naruto said, in awe. "You killed it in one shot! And you didn't even need to gather any energy!"

Ichigo wiped a bead of sweat from his forehead. "Yeah."

"What do we call this one?" Naruto asked.

The body of the creature was like a giant bird, without feathers. It had the body of a bird, but the wings of a bat. Its head was long and jagged, with rows of razor sharp teeth, and equally as sharp talons.

"I guess Bird would be fine," Ichigo replied.

"Bird?" Naruto retorted. "It doesn't even look like a bird!"

"It flies, has talons, and a beak. Bird will be fine."

"I can't win with you, you know that?" Naruto replied. He stared at Ichigo. "Hey, are you okay, you look real bad. That Bird didn't get you that bad!"

Ichigo sucked in a huge breath. "Yeah, I'm fine," he sighed. Naruto left it at that, and they walked on, letting the Bird rot. _What the hell was that?_ Ichigo wondered. _Why was my Getsuga Tenshô black? That's _his _technique. He can't be here, not yet._

Ichigo pushed these troubling thoughts to the back of his mind as he walked. Naruto seemed to not notice Ichigo's troubled face.

A loud crashing sound erupted from down the alley. Then Naruto's radio began to static again.

"Again?" Naruto complained. "Is it another Bird?"

Ichigo shook his head. "That sound was definitely from the ground. It was a Dog." They both waited for the monster to emerge. Quickly, it appeared, and faced the two of them, eager to fight.

Naruto hesitated. He glanced at Ichigo. "Hey, man, you all right? You usually attack by now."

Ichigo shook his head. "I'm fine, you just go ahead." Ichigo's vision began to darken. _Damn, go away! They're just Dogs; I don't need your help!_

Naruto ignored Ichigo's condition, and attacked the Dog. "I don't care if it's darker, you aren't any stronger!" Naruto yelled. They both charged at each other.

The Dog leaped into the air, and Naruto ducked. Before the Dog touched the ground, Naruto swung his leg into the air, slamming it into the Dog's side. The Dog hit the ground hard, but got back up.

"Come on," Naruto taunted.

The Dog attacked again, as Naruto ducked once more. As the Dog passed over Naruto yet again, it kicked out, scratching Naruto on the face, and forcing him backwards.

The Dog took the opportunity and began to attack Naruto's face. Ichigo ran to help, but Naruto disappeared in a puff of smoke. Instead, all that remained was a piece of broken wood. Confused, the Dog, chewed on the wood, and Naruto came from above, slamming his leg into the creature's skull. It yelped and collapsed to the ground, biting its own tongue. Blood spewed from its mouth, dripping to the floor.

It growled angrily, and reared back its head for another attack. It charged, and Naruto kicked the Dog in the face. It retreated a few feet before it regained its pose. Frustrated, it planned its next move. Naruto waited patiently, preparing himself as well.

The Dog charged once more, and Naruto jumped high into the air. The Dog, instead of stopping, continued to charge at Ichigo. Not expecting this, Naruto became concerned. "Ichigo!" he yelled.

Ichigo's hand snapped towards the Dog's neck, grabbing it before it could reach him. In a very dark and angry voice, Ichigo pulled the Dog to his face and said, "I'm not ready for this crap." With that, he snapped the Dog's neck in two, causing huge amounts of blood to seep through its skin, covering the ground.

Shocked, Naruto dropped to the ground and walked over to Ichigo. "Man, are you sure you're okay?"

Ichigo covered his face with one hand. "I said I'm fine." He didn't sound too convincing. _It must be this darkness,_ Ichigo thought. _Something about this town is making him come out._ The darkness in the corner of Ichigo's eye receded slightly, but did not go away.

"I guess we'll keep going then," Naruto suggested. Ichigo agreed, and they began to walk farther down the alley. Naruto occasionally glanced over at Ichigo, slightly worried. He felt uncomfortable around him, but he didn't know why.

Ichigo walked with a stagger, like walking was a huge effort. His hand ran through his hair every so often, and he began to sweat nervously. Naruto watched from behind, keeping a close eye on him.

They had barely reached the opening of the alley when the radio began to static violently yet again. Frustrated, Naruto said, "Man, another one?"

"There must be a lot more when it gets dark," Ichigo wheezed. Naruto continued to walk anyway. "Where are you going?"

"I don't have the time to waste on these dumb monsters," Naruto said. "I'm going to find Sasuke!"

Just then, a fast flapping sound echoed through the sky. Naruto crouched down, aiming his flashlight into the sky. He looked over at Ichigo. "Hey, you think you can manage another one of those attacks, like just before?" he asked, already sure of the answer.

Ichigo unsheathed Zangetsu, to Naruto's surprise. "I'll try." He held Zangetsu's blade to the ground, squeezing the hilt. "Getsuga," he began. The blade illuminated a black and red glow and the darkness in Ichigo's eye grew. He immediately stopped and held his face again. "I'm sorry, I can't do it."

Naruto nodded, understanding. "I've got an idea anyway," Naruto said, standing up. "Kakashi sensei did this against Zabuza."

Confused, Ichigo huffed, "You act like I know who that is."

"He was a rouge ninja from another village," Naruto explained, forming a hand sign. A blue aura surrounded Naruto. "Kakashi sensei did this to get rid of some mist that Zabuza created."

"Mist?" Ichigo asked. "You mean like what we were surrounded in earlier?"

Ignoring Ichigo, Naruto concentrated harder and harder, but nothing happened. After a minute, he opened his eyes. "Why doesn't anything work in this town?"

Ichigo asked, "Wait, where's that Bird?"

With that, a sharp pain erupted on Naruto's shoulder. He yelped and grabbed his wound. "Dammit!"

Naruto drew a kunai knife, and searched for the Bird, aiming his flashlight all over the place. "I can't find it!" Naruto groaned.

Ichigo leapt into the air yelling a war cry. He thrust Zangetsu down, landing hard on the ground.

Shocked, Naruto asked, "What the hell was the point in that?"

"Didn't want you to think I useless, just because I stayed out of the past couple fights."

Not understanding, Naruto walked over to Ichigo to see that the Bird was underneath him, Zangetsu shoved into its skull. Blood flooded the area.

Naruto stood surprised, gazing at the rotting corpse. "All right, I get it, you're not useless!"

"Damn straight," Ichigo sighed as he sheathed Zangetsu. "Let's keep going."

They turned a corner, now on a dark street. Their only light was their own flashlights. The street lights were broken, or just not working, giving a disturbing feeling all throughout their bodies. They stared down the street, as Naruto got chills running to the core of his soul. He glanced at Ichigo, who seemed to have other things on his mind.

They walked down the street, not entirely sure what was around them. The pitch black darkness covered everything, but the small path that their flash lights illuminated.

Naruto walked on, drifting slowly to the side. He eventually stumbled across the sidewalk, and stepped on that to walk on. Ichigo followed him. They walked for a short distance until Naruto pointed out a street sign. "Look," he said. "It says Midwich Matheson." He grinned widely. "We did it! We're on Midwich street!" Naruto could barely contain his excitement.

But before they could really celebrate, a growl emerged from the darkness. Shortly after, Naruto's radio went haywire again. Annoyed, Naruto drew a kunai. "I'll take him!"

Ichigo understood, and sat down to catch his breath. Naruto glanced over. _He's out of breath?_ He wondered. _But all we did was walk a while. _Before he could think on this any longer, the Dog came from the shadows.

It growled hungrily, and began to circle Ichigo and Naruto. It stared at them with beastly eyes, hoping to get an easy meal.

Naruto lunged at the creature, kunai in hand. He stabbed, piercing its thick hide. Blood erupted from the puncture, staining Naruto's face and collar. The Dog began to get back up, but Naruto wouldn't let it. He hacked and slashed, cutting up the beast every way he could think of. It bled and howled until the radio ceased to static, and the Dog lay motionless.

"There's so many of these things," Ichigo sighed.

"Yeah," Naruto agreed.

They continued their quest to the school. The street itself was easy to follow. It was a simple straight line, going all the way down. They passed the first intersection, glad that they could actually get past, versus the large pits they had encountered before.

They pressed on, Naruto watched Ichigo carefully, as he occasionally rubbed his hair, or wiped some sweat from his brow.

They met many monsters along their path. There were far more than ever before. Naruto dispatched of most of them, but Ichigo helped every so often, usually sitting out, and letting Naruto take all the action.

Ichigo sat and wondered, always deep in thought. Naruto paid little attention to Ichigo as he fought. Naruto got slight damage from his battles, with more and more blood beginning to cover his forehead, and shoulders. The pain grew to the point where he could barely move his shoulders without feeling large amounts of pain.

As they were walking down the street, more static exploded in Naruto's pocket. At this point, they were so used to this, they immediately got into battle positions.

"How about this one?" Naruto asked.

"No," Ichigo answered. "I'm sorry." His voice was full of disappointment.

Naruto could tell that Ichigo wasn't just saying this. If Ichigo had to sit out, then something must be really wrong. Nevertheless, Naruto got ready for the battle ahead. He listened for either growling or flapping. Eventually, a loud growl emerged from the darkness. Naruto prepared for a ground battle. He was eager, as the ground battles were much easier. He bent his knees, and put all his weight on his back leg. Then a sharp pain landed on his shoulder. Naruto howled in pain, grabbing his reopened wound. He could just barely make out a bird like figure flapping away. "Damn!" Naruto yelled. "There's a Dog and a Bird?"

Ichigo glanced up, anxious to see if Naruto was okay. To his relief, Naruto was just fine. He did seem stressed, frantically looking around the sky and ground.

Ichigo yelled to him, "Remember, listen for the sound to know what's coming at you!"

Naruto shot a nasty glare back to him. "There are both!"

Surprised, Ichigo whispered, "Both?" He began to have doubt as to whether or not Naruto could handle two at once. He stood up and unsheathed Zangetsu.

Naruto glanced over as Ichigo joined him in the center of the street. "You're going to help?" Naruto asked, taken aback.

"I don't have a choice," Ichigo sighed, as he saw the slight amount of black covering the corner of his eye grow.

Ichigo heard a flapping sound to his right, and he slashed in that direction. The Bird nimbly dodged and flew away again. "Damn, we're not getting anywhere!"

The Dog finally showed itself, and lunged at Naruto, who managed to kick it in the ribs. It ran away as well, disappearing into the shadows.

Ichigo and Naruto stared off into the distance, trying to see any shape or movement whatsoever. Not a thing could be seen, but the radio still made violent static noises. The flapping returned, and Ichigo, without thinking, yelled as he thrust Zangetsu into the air, "Getsuga Tenshô!"

The same black and red blast of concentrated energy flew into the air, colliding with the Bird, ripping it in half. Blood splashed the ground, and a sharp yelp pierced the air, as Naruto saw the blood splash the Dog.

Naruto seized this opportunity to attack the Dog with his kunai. He threw it, aiming true, penetrating the Dog's eye. More dark blood exploded onto the pavement.

Ichigo fell to his knees, cursing, "Dammit, why'd I do that?"

Walking over to him, Naruto said, "You probably just saved us from some real bad wounds. I think it's time you told me what's been bothering you."

Ichigo glared at Naruto. "It's nothing."

"It's not nothing!" Naruto exclaimed. "You act like you've got it under control, but you don't! I don't even know what's wrong! Maybe I can help!"

"Trust me, you can't help with this," Ichigo replied, the darkness in his eye growing. It covered half of his eye now.

Naruto let it at that, and continued to walk. They walked for some time, until they came to another intersection. Naruto read the sign. "Midwich Bloch. So this should be the last intersection before we reach the school," Naruto announced.

"Good," Ichigo replied. "Let's hurry this up.

They continued to walk. Curious, Ichigo asked, "So what was with that piece of wood before?"

"What?" Naruto asked, confused.

"That Dog definitely got you, but then you disappeared and only a little piece of wood was left."

"Oh," Naruto grinned. "That was a substitution Jutsu."

"I think I get it," Ichigo replied. "The title is pretty self explanatory."

"Yeah," Naruto agreed.

They continued to walk. Naruto coughed as Ichigo tripped over a loose rock.

They passed the intersection and walked farther. The darkness seemed to grow as they traveled down the path. The intersection quickly became a blur in the distance, then they couldn't see it at all. As they walked on the sidewalk, they began to see signs that say School Crossing.

Naruto couldn't hold back his anticipation. "We're almost there!" he yelled. "We're so close!"

"I know," Ichigo replied. "Let's just keep going."

Naruto and Ichigo walked down the street, passing signs and cars. Naruto peered inside the windows, seeing nothing but empty seats inside the darkness. His flashlight shone through the window, reflecting the inside.

Ichigo continued to travel, as Naruto followed. The houses quickly faded away as more and more trees and flat lawns appeared. Soon enough, it looked more like a park than anything else.

Once more, Naruto's radio exploded in static, as they got ready for another fight.

"How many of these things are there?" Ichigo growled angrily. "There's no end!" He was silent. _It's like they're trying to force me to use his power!_

Naruto also got ready. "Let's do it."

Shortly after, a loud flapping was carried on the wind. Quite familiar to the noise, Ichigo and Naruto knew what to expect.

The Bird quickly showed itself, aiming to cut Ichigo's shoulder. Ichigo used the hilt of Zangetsu to crush the Bird's shin. It squeaked, fleeing. Knowing better, Ichigo prepared for the second attack.

This time, the Bird went after Naruto, who already had a kunai prepared. The Bird attacked, as Naruto jumped into the air, kicking the Bird in the face. Blood came from its beak, as Naruto came crashing down, running the kunai through the Bird's body. It slashed through its chest, blood splattering the ground.

Satisfied, Naruto sheathed his kunai, watching the Bird fall to the ground, bleeding to death. Naruto grinned widely.

"You know," Ichigo began. "You've come a long way in the past few hours. Before, you saw all this blood, and you puked all over the place!"

"Yeah," Naruto replied. "Well this place kind of makes you used to blood and monsters."

Chuckling, Ichigo walked past Naruto. "Let's get to this damn school." He limped further down the road, Naruto trailing behind him. The Bird finally closed its eyes and let out its last breath of air.

They walked for a few moments longer, once Ichigo pointed out another sign.

"What's that?" Naruto asked.

"It says School Crossing," Ichigo replied. "That means we must be really close!"

Naruto clenched his fists. "Good."

They traveled down the road, until the street became narrower, and more cars were parked on the sides. A large yellow school bus was parked by the cars.

"Wow," Naruto exclaimed. "What's that thing?"

"It's a bus," Ichigo answered.

"Looks like an oversized car."

"That's basically what it is," Ichigo replied.

"Let's check it out," Naruto suggested.

"All right."

Naruto and Ichigo walked up to the bus. The door was broken, glass all over the floor. Blood smeared the steering wheel, and trailed down the aisle.

They walked around for a brief moment. "You bored yet?" Ichigo asked.

"Yeah," Naruto nodded. "Let's finally get to the school."

As they walked back to the front of the bus, Naruto caught something out of the corner of his eye.

"What's wrong?" Ichigo asked.

"Look," Naruto replied. "It's another notebook." He took it and flipped it open.

"Read it," Ichigo said.

"I'm finally here," Naruto read. "This is where Cheryl is, I'm sure of it. I'm going to keep this one short, as I can't contain my excitement. I just to remember how," he paused. "How." Naruto squinted at the page.

Ichigo looked over. "Spontaneous," he read.

Naruto glared at him. "I know!" He glanced at the note again. "I just have to remember how spontaneous these monsters can be." He paused again to read the signature. "Harry Mason."

Naruto replaced the notebook on the dashboard. "All right, that does it!" He announced. "I'm going to get to this damn school now!"

As they stepped out of the bus, a loud crash erupted inside. Ichigo looked back to see the glove compartment opened up. Ichigo walked in and saw what had fallen out. Picking up the object, he said to Naruto, "It's a handgun!"

Naruto squinted at the weapon. He grinned widely.

Ichigo became suspicious. "What's so funny?"

Naruto shook his head, losing his grin. "Nothing," he replied.

"In any case, I guess we're done here. Let's go."

Ichigo and Naruto left the bus and walked down the street. After a few yards, a large building appeared through the darkness. A large pole with a waving flag was blowing in the wind.

"Finally," Ichigo exhaled.

"What?" Naruto asked.

"A flagpole," Ichigo replied. "That usually means we're at the school." Ichigo pointed to the building.

Bushes lined the sidewalk, leading up to a glass door, which leads inside the building. Large letters lined the top of the building, but it was too dark to read them. A sign to their left was a lot closer, so Naruto let his light shine on it, revealing the words: Midwich Elementary School.

Naruto smirked, making a weird shrieking noise.

Surprised, Ichigo asked, "What the hell was that?"

"I'm just excited," Naruto replied.

They walked up the sidewalk, as Naruto's radio burst into static. Sighing, Naruto exclaimed, "Oh, dammit! We were so close too!"

A Dog emerged from the bushes, growling hungrily. It foamed from the mouth, snapping its jaws at the intruders.

Naruto sighed as he drew his kunai. "I really want to end this now." He charged at the Dog, blade raised.

Ichigo called after him, "No! Naruto don't!"

As Naruto drew closer, another Dog came from the bushes and tackled Naruto to the ground.

Ichigo rushed to help him, as a third Dog came from nowhere, attacking Ichigo. "Damn, how many of you bastards are there?" He struggled with the Dog, as it snapped at his neck.

Ichigo glanced over at Naruto, who was having his own problems with the vicious Dogs. He managed to hold off one Dog with one hand, but the other was proving to be a bit more of a problem. It snapped and snarled, and managed to nip Naruto's hand. He yelped in pain, holding his hand, as it bled slightly.

The other Dog leapt for Naruto's neck, but a black and red blast flew passed Naruto's head, and slammed into the Dog's body. Naruto glanced at Ichigo, who had Zangetsu raised, staring at Naruto. Another Dog leapt at Ichigo, so he had to focus on his own battle.

Ichigo slashed at the Dog, but it managed to dodge easily. "Dammit!" Ichigo yelled, swinging his sword blindly. The Dog sensed Ichigo's anger and growled triumphantly. Its attacks became fiercer and stronger.

Just then, Naruto felt a strong stab of pain on his shoulder. A Bird flew past, blood flowing from its talons. It was Naruto's blood.

The radio was going crazy. It sounded like a broken T.V. Ichigo and Naruto were getting desperate. Naruto prepared his Rasengan. The blue energy ball swirled in his hand like a glowing sphere of raw power. "That's it!" he yelled, launching his attack. "Rasengan!" He slammed into a nearby Dog, pushing his attack deeper and deeper into its body. It howled in pain, blood exploding onto the bushes and sidewalk.

The Bird was coming back for another attack. Ichigo leapt into the air, howling as he brought Zangetsu down hard, black and red energy flowing from it. The blackness in his eye covered more than half of his eye. A voice crept into Ichigo's mind. It had a high pitch sound, and gave Ichigo chills all down his spine.

"Ichigo," it said, tauntingly. "You fool! How can you expect to win?"

Ichigo's eyes opened wide with absolute fear. "What are you doing here?" he yelled.

Naruto glanced over, confused. A Dog took the opportunity and attack his side. Naruto just barely dodged, his shirt being torn.

"Let me do it!" the voice ordered.

"I don't need you!" Ichigo whispered.

A Dog attacked his back, slashing, and creating two deep scratches. Blood stained his clothes.

"Come on," the voice crept.

"Get out of here!" Ichigo yelled, his whole body growing tight. He continuously yelled into the air, a black aura emitting all around his body.

Naruto stared in amazement. "Ichigo!" he yelled. "Are you okay?"

Ichigo continued to scream loudly, his eyes shut tight. He clenched Zangetsu as hard as he could.

"Just how pathetic are you, you dumbass?" A voice called out from above them. Ichigo and Naruto looked up at the rooftop to see a young girl standing there. She had two pigtails from either side of her blond hair. She had glazed brown eyes, and freckles under her eyes. She had a sword on her back, which one hand was holding the hilt, as it rested in its sheath. She also had a small elongated tooth on the right side of her mouth. She wore a red jogging suit with white stripes along the pant legs and sleeves, which was unzipped, revealing a long white t shirt. She had yellow sandals, and an angry expression on her face.

"Who are you?" Naruto asked.

She leapt from the rooftop of the school, landing on the ground a few feet from a Dog. Once Naruto caught a glance, he saw that her sword was unsheathed, and had already slashed the Dog right through its middle. Blood exploded everywhere.

The other Dog that was fighting Ichigo ran towards her, but she kicked out her leg, balancing on her sword's hilt. She kicked the Dog in the face, and took her sword, slashing its neck, decapitating the monster. More blood sprayed the battle scene.

A flapping sound erupted from the darkness, as the girl leapt into the air, twirling as she used her sword to slash the Bird's face in half. She landed gracefully, sheathing her sword as the Bird's body slammed into the ground. Blood covered the pavement.

After Naruto regained his senses, he walked up to her and asked again, "Who are you?"

She glared at him. After a pause, she answered, her voice bratty and annoyed, "I'm Hiyori Sarugaki. Who the hell are you?"

Taken aback, Naruto replied, "I'm Naruto Uzumaki, the strongest guy on this mission!"

Hiyori laughed, "You? You couldn't even take care of a few pathetic monsters?"

"Nobody asked you!" Naruto snapped.

"I don't really give a damn who asked me," Hiyori retorted.

Naruto was incredibly frustrated.

Hiyori turned to Ichigo. "What the hell were you thinking before, you dumbass?"

Ichigo turned away. Naruto was confused. "Wait, do you two know each other?"

"Yeah," Ichigo replied softly.

"I thought you learned to control that Hollow of yours," Hiyori said. "What the hell happened?"

Naruto asked, "Hollow? Isn't that a bad spirit?"

"Yeah," Hiyori replied.

"It doesn't matter," Ichigo snapped.

"I'll tell you all about it," Hiyori said.

Ichigo grabbed her wrist. "Leave it," he ordered.

"Are you freaking joking?" Hiyori said. She easily got out of Ichigo's grasp with a flick of her wrist. "Just stand there for a second," she said, lifting up her leg. She took off her sandal, as Naruto watched, curious. She slapped Ichigo across the face with it. "Don't ever order me around!"

Naruto got a slight feeling of fear in his stomach. He felt like asking Hiyori about Ichigo's Hollow, but felt that might not be a good idea.

"Look at you," Hiyori screamed. "You're all beat up! What the hell am I training you for?"

Ichigo remained quiet, lying on the floor, rubbing his cheek. It stung from pain, and was red. He glared at Hiyori with intensely angry eyes. "What are you doing here anyway?"

She just glared back, and finally answered, "We over heard you and that black haired girl talking." She paused. "Well, Shinji over heard you. I wanted to kick some ass, so I joined Shinji."

"Joined him?" Ichigo asked.

Hiyori sighed, and answered, "Well, Shinji didn't want you to get killed, so he followed you. I just felt like coming along."

"That doesn't sound like him," Ichigo said.

"Yeah," Hiyori agreed. "Well, he felt a lot of weird spiritual pressure coming from this place. He thought you might get killed if you were here alone."

"I wouldn't get killed!" Ichigo snapped.

Hiyori looked at Ichigo, covered in blood, then at the rotting corpses of monsters. "Yeah, I'm sure you'd do just fine."

"Shut your mouth," Ichigo whispered.

"I heard that, you prick!" Hiyori yelled, slapping Ichigo across the face, this time with her bare hand.

Naruto just stared, staying quiet, not sure how to stop them from fighting. "Hey, Hiyori?" Naruto addressed her.

"What?" she yelled, turning from Ichigo to Naruto.

Growing nervous, Naruto stuttered, "I was just wondering where this Shinji guy is!"

She calmed down, and replied, "We split up to look for Ichigo. For whatever reason, we couldn't find his spiritual pressure."

"So then how do you plan on reconnecting with him?" Ichigo asked.

"That's why we have these!" Hiyori said, holding up a radio head set.

Ichigo sighed, and he said, "Dammit, Hiyori! Those don't work!"

Confused, Hiyori asked, "What are you talking about?"

"We tried those before," Ichigo explained. "For whatever reason, no electronics work in this place."

With a blank stare, Hiyori dropped her radio set. After a pause, she said, "Well that sucks." If she had any emotion, she hid it well.

"Okay," Naruto broke the silence. "Can we just go into the school?"

"Why are you trying to get in here?" Hiyori asked.

"Because I think one of my friends might be in here," Naruto replied. "What are you going to do, Hiyori?"

"What do you mean, what am I going to do?" Hiyori asked. "You're going to leave a young, defenseless girl out on her own in this place?"

_Defenseless?_ Naruto thought. _She's stronger than Ichigo!_

"So you're going to be coming with us?" Ichigo asked.

"Yeah, dumbass!" Hiyori yelled. "I have to find Shinji, but why would I go on my own?"

"Fine," Ichigo said.

"I know it is!" Hiyori snapped.

Naruto walked up to the glass doors, steeping past the dead bodies, and opened the door. Ichigo and Hiyori followed. They all walked into the dark school, unsure of what lay ahead.

107


	10. Chapter 10: Midwich Elementary School

Chapter X

**Midwich Elementary School**

Once they were inside, they were in a dark room. The flooring was made of wood, and there was only one set of wooden doors straight ahead. They had glass windows on them, but it was still too dark to see through them. A bench rested against the wall to their right.

As soon as they stepped inside the building, Naruto's radio began to static. It didn't take long for the group to see the two misshapen creatures in front of them. They had a human figure, but this time, they did have arms. They had the same skin tone as the Acid they fought many hours ago. Yet, they had a hunched back, and were each carried a large knife at their side. They walked back and forth, groaning every so often.

One turned, and noticed the new set of lights that had entered their domain. It began to limp towards them, with a deranged face. It held up its knife, aiming to kill.

Surprised, Hiyori yelled, "What the hell are you doing?" Obviously, the monster didn't listen to her, or respond. Instead, it slashed at her, as she barely dodged. Her red jogging jacket was torn slightly.

Narrowing her eyes, Hiyori said angrily, "Okay, you freaking dumbass!" She didn't even bother to take out her sword. Instead, she took her hand, and punched the creature in the stomach.

It doubled over in pain, trying to breathe in air. Its partner came wobbling over to help. Hiyori, kneed that one in the face. She turned to Ichigo and Naruto. "Are you even going to help?" she yelled.

Naruto was holding his bleeding shoulders. "Of course!" he replied. As he got up to move, pain exploded in his knee. He collapsed to the floor. One of the creatures came over and aimed to stab Naruto's neck. Naruto barely managed to get out of the way, but the knife stuck into his arm deeply. Howling in pain, Naruto squirmed on the floor, bleeding profusely.

Hiyori sighed, "That's what you get!" She drew her sword, and a powerful aura surrounded her. She slashed the monster that she was attacking in the back, black blood spraying everywhere.

It turned and swung its knife at her, but she nimbly dodged. "Wow," Hiyori said, amazed. "You survived that? Better aim deeper this time." She stabbed the creature through the chest. Blood stained her white shirt. "That should be deep enough."

The creature collapsed to the ground, dead. The second creature drew its knife from Naruto's arm, and stabbed at his back. The knife collided with metal, making sparks.

Once Naruto looked up to see what happened, he saw Zangetsu above him. Ichigo was holding one side of his face, staring at the creature. He held Zangetsu above Naruto, protecting him.

Ichigo turned Zangetsu, the sharp part of the blade turned upwards. He slashed vertically, ripping through the creature's rough skin. With a never ending flow of blood, the monster also collapsed, dead.

They all stood there for a minute, taking in what just happened. Hiyori and Ichigo sheathed their weapons. Naruto pulled himself onto the bench.

Hiyori glared at him. "We can't rest now!" she announced. "What are you thinking, kid?"

"I'm tired!" Naruto snapped. "Besides, who are you calling kid? You look only a little older than me!"

Hiyori grabbed Naruto's collar, bringing him to her face. "Listen, you ass. I'm going to set you straight right now. I've probably lived ten times what you have, okay? Also, never snap at me. I don't like that." She threw him back onto the bench. "Now I said let's go."

Naruto walked over to Ichigo. "Thanks for the help," he said. He stuck out his hand, helping Ichigo to his feet. He let Ichigo lean on his shoulder, as Ichigo limped by his side. Naruto nodded to Hiyori. "She's a real jerk, isn't she?"

Ichigo looked away. "It's all right, Naruto. You can say bitch." Naruto chuckled slightly.

They walked in the only direction they could, straight. Hiyori pushed open the wooden doors, revealing a long dark hallway. Two more wooden doors were straight ahead of them. A large room was to their left, and at the end of each hallway was a large metal door. They couldn't see into the room next to them, because the walls blocked their sight off.

They followed Hiyori, who was walking to their left, towards the large room. They eventually reached a doorway, which led into a small office. Another door was at the back of the room. Papers were scattered everywhere, most covered in blood. The chair also was stained red.

Hiyori sighed, "There's nothing here."

She brushed past Ichigo and Naruto, walking away from them. They had no choice but to follow her. She was walking around for a minute, until she turned to Naruto. "Hey," she said.

His eyes darting back and forth nervously, Naruto asked, "What?"

"Tell me," Hiyori began. "Why is it you and Ichigo have flashlights, but I don't?"

Naruto reached into his bag, and pulled out the spare light. He handed it to Hiyori, saying, "You know, you could have asked nicer."

Hiyori ignored him, attaching the flashlight to her chest. She turned it on, illuminating the hallway. She looked around for a second, then began to walk again. Posters lined the walls, all about school events that were long over with. Once they got down the hallway, they saw another door. It was much narrower than the others in the building so far. Hiyori moved past it, but Naruto and Ichigo stopped by it.

"Hold it," Ichigo said.

Hiyori spun around. "What? Why?"

"You keep moving past all these doors. Why don't we actually check one out?" Naruto replied.

"There you go," Hiyori said, motioning towards the door. "It's a very nice door, now let's move on."

"No," Ichigo said. He opened the door, and he and Naruto stepped inside. Hiyori sighed, annoyed, but she too joined them inside the room.

There was a table to their left, which was used for patients to lay on at the dentist, or doctor's office. Next to that, on the far left, was a large cabinet. Then, against the wall, was a desk, with counters next to that.

Ichigo sat on the table, while Hiyori and Naruto looked around the room. Naruto opened the cabinet and saw two nutrition drinks. Gleefully, he took them out, and handed one to Ichigo.

Ichigo accepted, and they drank the bottles to the last drop. Hiyori watched, confused. "You'd actually drink something from this place?" she asked.

Naruto sat as his cuts and burns faded away. The pain was removed, and his bleeding stopped. However, he was too badly damaged for all his wounds to be healed. Cuts on his face and legs still remained. His back still had a huge gash through it.

Ichigo was almost fully healed, his bleeding had also stopped. He still had cuts here and there as well.

Hiyori gasped. "What the hell?"

"It's a healing drink," Naruto explained, giving her the bottle.

She read the label, and stared at the two guys. "That's incredible!" She placed the empty bottle on the desk.

"I wish I could get rid of this though," Naruto said, reaching for his gash, in the center of his back.

"What happened to the other drink you got?" Ichigo asked.

"What other drink?" Naruto asked. "We got one at the house, but that was it."

"No it wasn't," Ichigo replied. "Remember the one you got on the table in the backyard?"

Instantly remembering, Naruto took out the last drink and gulped it down. Every little cut and scrape had now healed. Some pain remained, but the wounds were gone.

"It completely heals you?" Hiyori asked.

"No," Ichigo replied. "Only the surface. It doesn't heal internal wounds. So he'll have to get checked once we leave this place."

"That sucks," Hiyori said.

Naruto continued to search the cabinet. He pulled out another med kit. He stuffed that in his pouch.

"So what items do you have?" Hiyori asked. "I need to know if I'm going to be with you guys."

Naruto dumped his bag. "I have twelve shuriken left," he said, counting his inventory. "Only one kunai, five paper bombs."

"Paper bombs?" Ichigo asked.

"They're exactly what the name makes you think," Naruto replied. He continued to count. "No more health drinks, one med kit, and," he saw the twelve pack of bullets that he took from the table in the backyard of the house.

"And?" Hiyori asked.

"No, that's it," Naruto answered.

Satisfied, Hiyori said, "All right, that's good."

Ichigo glanced over at the desk. "What's that?" he asked. Walking over, he picked up another red notebook.

"Harry Mason?" Naruto asked.

"I'd imagine."

Confused, Hiyori asked, "Who the hell is that? And what the hell kind of name is Harry?"

Ichigo flipped open the book. "It's this guy who was in this town years ago, and he was looking for his daughter, Cheryl. He left behind all these notebooks in different places for others to read, in case they ever are stuck in this town like he was."

"It's a good thing we're not stuck," Hiyori chuckled.

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked. "We haven't been able to get out. All the roads are blocked off."

"So we can use a Senkaimon," Hiyori replied.

"It doesn't work," Ichigo replied. "The twisted spiritual pressure doesn't let you do that."

"Whoever heard of something like that?" Hiyori asked, enraged.

"I didn't do it!" Ichigo yelled back, trying to remove the blame from himself.

Hiyori groaned, irritated. "All right, whatever!" She began to walk to the door. "Can we just go now?"

"Yeah," Naruto agreed. "I just wanted to rest up for a second. We were pretty beat up."

"I noticed," Hiyori replied. Ichigo picked up the notebook. Hiyori glanced over. "What are you doing?"

"Naruto and I have been reading these."

"So?"

Frustrated, Ichigo replied, "I'm going to read it."

"Like hell you are, I don't want to hear that crap!"

"Then leave!" Ichigo snapped. "I don't remember us asking you to come along! You wanted to come!"

"Kiss my ass!" Hiyori yelled.

Naruto sighed. "Shut up!" he yelled. Hiyori and Ichigo stopped fighting and turned to Naruto. "It's only been ten minutes and you've fought with her more than you did with Renji!"

Ichigo turned away. Hiyori glanced at Ichigo, then at Naruto. "Hey," she said to Naruto. "Leave for a second."

Taken aback, Naruto asked, "What?"

"I said leave."

Confused, Naruto asked, "What the heck do you need to do that I can't be here for?" He paused. "Oh, I get it!"

Blushing, Hiyori yelled, "That's not it, you little dumbass!"

Smirking, Naruto asked, "Then what?"

Ichigo was completely oblivious, staring off into space, trying to drown out Hiyori yelling.

Hiyori punched Naruto in the face. "Out! Now! I have something to take care of, and if you had a right to know, then I wouldn't be kicking you out!"

Pouting, Naruto replied, "Fine, I'll leave, but if I come back and something's happening, then I'm going to throw up! Besides, doesn't Ichigo like Rukia or something?"

"I really don't give a crap!" Hiyori shouted.

Naruto rolled his eyes and began to walk out of the room. Ichigo followed, but Hiyori grabbed his collar. "Weren't you paying attention at all?" she yelled at him. "I said I had to be with you alone!"

Confused, Ichigo stared into her eyes, and asked, "Why?"

"Because I said so, that's why!"

Naruto shut the door behind him.

Hiyori dropped Ichigo and began to talk. "So now he's gone. So you can tell me what happened out in the yard just fifteen minutes ago."

Ichigo looked away. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

She grabbed his collar again. "Don't play dumb! What the hell happened to your Hollow?" she yelled.

Ichigo brushed her off. "I have no idea! I thought you taught me how to control him! Why is he coming back?"

"I don't know!" Hiyori yelled back. "You almost let him out back there. Nice work, dumbass."

"Not on purpose!"

"Doesn't matter!"

Ichigo crossed his arms. "Whatever!" Suddenly, Ichigo had a realization. "Well, he seemed pretty damn strong when we were outside in the darkness. But now that we're inside, I can't even really feel his presence. I mean, he's there, I know it, but it's faint."

Hiyori moved Ichigo's face to the side with her hand. She peered into his eye. "Well, the black in your eye is faded. I guess your Hollow's gone for now."

Naruto was pressed against the door on the outside. "What?" he said quietly. Ichigo's a Hollow? Or he has a Hollow trapped inside of him?" Just then Naruto's radio began to static.

"You can't let that damn thing get to you," Hiyori ordered. "It looks like you'll have to beat him again." She paused. "Unfortunately, we don't have the rest of the Vizards with us. So we can't do it here. We'll do it again once we get back."

"Fine," Ichigo agreed. "Come to think of it, when it was day out, I couldn't even tell that he was even here."

"Then maybe it has something to do with this town," Hiyori suggested.

"Whatever," Ichigo said. "The point is, there's nothing we can do about it now, so why worry? Let Naruto back in."

Hiyori opened the door. Naruto rushed in and slammed the door behind him. He used his body weight to keep the door closed. His face was red and sweaty. His eyes darted back and forth nervously.

"What the hell did you do?" Hiyori asked.

"Nothing!" Naruto replied. Loud bangs crashed on the door behind him. "Okay, all I did was walk around, and one of those things spotted me, and I got out my kunai, but then I realized that I left my bag in here!"

"Dumbass," Hiyori sighed.

Naruto ran to his bag, grabbing the strap, and returning it to its original position on his waist.

Hiyori began to draw her sword, but Ichigo stopped her. "You've fought while we were injured. I think we can handle ourselves now."

Hiyori chuckled. "Yeah, right! I don't think you could even handle yourself against a couple Dogs!"

Ichigo ignored her and opened the door. The demonic creature wandered in, but it barely made it through the door before Zangetsu was thrust through its head. Ichigo unstuck his blade from the creature's head, as it fell backwards, dead.

A second creature tried to wobble inside, but a shuriken flew passed Ichigo, digging itself into the creature's eye. It too, collapsed to the ground, and quickly died.

Hiyori laughed slightly. "Great, so you can take on two weak ass monsters with a surprise attack. I guess I was wrong. You can protect me from now on," she retorted, sarcastically.

They walked over the dead bodies. Naruto took his shuriken from the monster's head, and replaced it into his pocket.

"What did Harry's letter say?" Naruto asked.

"I didn't let him read it," Hiyori responded.

"I forgot about it," Ichigo said. "It's okay, we'll let this one slide. Then we can find Sasuke and get the hell out of here."

"So is that what you're doing here?" Hiyori asked. "The Soul Society asked you to find Sasuke?"

"Do you know him?" Naruto asked, hopefully.

"Of course not," she snapped.

"No," Ichigo answered. "The Soul Society just asked me to explore the area."

"Don't you think you have enough data to return?" Hiyori asked.

"Yeah, but our allies are looking for someone, so we're helping them," Ichigo answered.

"Allies?"

"Like I said," Naruto announced, running in front of them, then turning to face them. He stuck his chest out proudly. "I am Naruto Uzumaki of the Hidden Leaf Village!"

After a short pause, Hiyori asked, "How can you find it if it's hidden?"

Enraged, Naruto yelled, "That's not funny! Show some respect! I'm not afraid of you!"

Hiyori grabbed Naruto's collar and brought him close to her face. "Don't worry," she said as menacingly as she could. "The fear will come later."

Naruto turned to Ichigo for support, but he merely looked away. Hiyori let Naruto go, and walked off, the other guys trailing behind her.

Before Hiyori could walk any farther, Ichigo asked, "Do you even know where you're taking us?"

She stopped, scratched her head and replied, her voice shaky. "Of course I do!" She didn't turn around, so she didn't look into their eyes.

They were standing back in the lobby area. Ichigo looked over to Naruto. "I think we should look for a map," Ichigo suggested.

Hiyori stayed quiet. Naruto nodded in agreement. Ichigo moved towards the office. "I'll search here," he said.

"I can search the hospital room," Naruto announced.

"It's called an infirmary," Hiyori retorted. "I can search everywhere else." She started to walk away yet again, pacing the hallway. Naruto entered the infirmary, and Ichigo slipped through the open doorway into the office.

Ichigo shuffled through papers, getting blood all over his hands. "Disgusting," he sighed, getting a hand full of blood. "Even if there was a map here, I wouldn't be able to read it. There's way too much blood!" He still continued to search, but to no avail. He leaned against the wall. Damn, what do I do now?"

Naruto was having no better luck. He searched all over the desk, finding nothing but random medical papers and pencils. He opened a drawer in the desk to find another red box. He grinned, picking it up. "More handgun bullets! Man, I can't wait to try these out!" He pocketed the ammunition, and continued searching.

Finding nothing else in the desk, he moved on to the cabinet. It was quite empty, so he quickly finished searching that. The only other place was a counter on the wall behind him. There was nothing there at all, except for a few more papers. Glancing at them, Naruto realized that they were more medical papers. Having no interest in that, he replaced them on the counter with a sigh.

Hiyori had been wandering the hall, while Ichigo and Naruto searched. There wasn't much to search. There were a couple benches, and two sets of doors. One that led to the entrance of the school, and one that was too dark to see. She sat down on the bench, sighing. "Well, this sucks," she complained. She sat beneath the bulletin board. She reached behind her and grabbed a piece of paper. "A talent show?" she read. "That would be fun. If I was drunk and bored." She threw the paper to the ground. She reached up and grabbed another. "What the hell is this?" Hiyori asked. "Directions?" she paused, looking over the paper. She stood up. "Oh, it's a map!"

Hiyori walked into the office to see Ichigo kicking a chair. "What is it?" he asked, clearly frustrated.

"Shut it," Hiyori replied, handing him the map.

Taking it, Ichigo asked, "Where'd you get that?"

"It was on the bulletin board."

Ichigo walked over to the infirmary door, and walked inside, to see Naruto wrestling with a plastic skeleton display.

Seeing Ichigo and Hiyori step inside, he instantly stopped, and stood up. "It fell on me!" he yelled.

"I'm going to accept that," Ichigo said. "Because I really don't want to hear what actually happened."

"I'm going to forget I saw that," Hiyori remarked.

Naruto placed the skeleton back in its upright position, and joined Ichigo and Hiyori by the doorway. "So did either of you find it?"

Ichigo held up the map. "Hiyori did."

"Awesome!" Naruto exclaimed.

They walked out from the infirmary and stood in the hallway. "So what do we do now?" Naruto asked.

Ichigo glanced at the map. "Well, we're on the first floor. Those doors there," he pointed to the double doors with windows that couldn't be seen through. "They lead to the courtyard."

"What exactly are we looking for?" Hiyori asked. "I know to find Sake,"

"Sasuke," Naruto corrected.

"Whatever."

"That's a good question," Ichigo said. "Where should we go to find Sasuke?"

They thought for a moment, unsure of what to do next. Naruto finally suggested, "Why don't we just look everywhere? It's simple, but it's the best thing I can think of."

"Should we split up?" Ichigo wondered.

"Hell no!" Hiyori answered. "If we do that, then we might not be able to reconnect. Just like me and Shinji."

"By the way," Ichigo asked. "Have you seen anyone else around here?"

"Besides you two?"

"Yeah."

"No," Hiyori replied.

"I see," Ichigo said. "I thought maybe you might have seen other Soul Reapers from the Soul Society, but I guess not."

"What do you mean?" Hiyori asked, her voice getting slightly more rash.

"There was a whole other group that we were supposed to meet, but we never found them."

"Another group?"

"Yeah," Ichigo answered. "I thought you heard Rukia and I talking. You didn't get that part?"

"No," Hiyori replied, shamefully.

"You know," Naruto said. "It's been quiet. I wonder where all the monsters are."

"Well, we are in an enclosed area," Ichigo replied. "We probably killed all the ones in this area for now."

"So, we still need to decide where we go first," Hiyori announced. She grabbed the map from Ichigo's hands. "I think we should go to the hallway next to us. We already searched this place, let's go somewhere else."

"Sounds good," Ichigo agreed.

They walked to their left, and walked through the steel double doors that led to another hallway.

Based on the map, the school's layout has a courtyard in the center, surrounded by four hallways, like a square.

Now they were in the hallway all the way to the left. As soon as they entered, loud static emitted from the radio in Naruto's pocket.

"There are more," Naruto said, slight disappointed.

"What's wrong?" Hiyori asked. "You don't want to fight?"

"Not these things," Naruto replied. "They're just monsters. I can't fight that. Now put me up against Ichigo and I can have some fun!"

Hiyori snickered. "That would be a good fight. The wannabe ninja versus the coward!"

"Coward?" Ichigo snapped. "What the hell do you mean by that?"

"Maybe we should argue about this after we kill those things," Naruto suggested, as three of those human shaped monsters came wobbling out of the shadows, each with a large knife in its hand.

Agreeing, Ichigo and Hiyori faced the oncoming monsters with Naruto. Ichigo drew Zangetsu while Hiyori drew her sword.

Using flash step, Ichigo sped towards one of the monsters, slashing it in one blow across the chest. It fell to the floor, alive, but horribly wounded.

Hiyori disappeared as well, reappearing behind the second monsters, chopping off its head, blood exploded onto the walls, staining Hiyori's blade.

Naruto watched in amazement, and then realized it was his turn. There was one monster left, coming right at him. He ran towards it, forming a hand sign. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" he yelled. Two clones appeared beside Naruto as he ran. One clone kicked the creature into the air and disappeared in a puff of smoke. The second clone ran underneath the monster, kicking it higher into the air. It also disappeared. The Naruto leapt into the air, clenching a hard fist. With all his strength, he pummeled the creature to the ground. The back of its head cracked open and small amounts of blood spilled out.

"What are you doing?" Hiyori asked. She pushed Naruto aside, and used her sword to stab the monster's face. More blood flowed from the body. It squirmed for a second, in unbearable pain, but then it came to a rest.

"What was that for?" Naruto asked.

Hiyori glared at him. "You idiot! You can't use techniques like that! You have to kill them in one blow, you can't just hit them. Aren't you a ninja? What happened to you weapons?"

"I have a limited supply!" Naruto argued.

"You're so useless!" Hiyori replied.

"Shut up!"

"What did you say?"

"You heard me!"

Naruto and Hiyori locked gazes, fire burning in both of their eyes. Neither would back down from the other.

"You see, Naruto?" Ichigo said. "It's easy to fight with her."

Turning to Ichigo, Hiyori yelled, "Quiet, dumbass!"

"Okay, okay!" Naruto yelled. "Let's just stop and move on! This is getting annoying!"

"What's his problem?" Hiyori whispered to Ichigo.

"His friend is here, and he wants to find him," Ichigo replied.

Naruto began to walk down the hall. Ichigo called out to him, "Hey, Naruto!" Naruto turned around. "You search that half of the wing, Hiyori and I will take this side!"

Naruto nodded and walked away. Ichigo heard him muttering to himself. He wasn't sure what he heard, but it sounded like, "Why do they always want to be alone?"

"Who says I want to be on your side?" Hiyori asked.

"Naruto seems pretty determined, so maybe we should just let him do his own thing," Ichigo explained.

"That doesn't make any sense at all."

"That's only because you don't know Naruto," Ichigo replied. "I've only known him for a few hours, but he's a pretty different person. At least, different from the rest of the ninjas in his group."

"Don't you think ninjas are weird?" Hiyori asked. "I mean, isn't that like a kid's thing?"

"So are soul reapers."

"I'm not a soul reaper," Hiyori replied smugly.

Ichigo shrugged. "Anyway, let's search this hallway."

To their left were three wooden doors. They walked to the first two. "I'll take this one," Ichigo announced, pointing to the first door.

Hiyori nodded in acknowledgement. "I'll look in this one," she replied, nodding towards the second door. She sounded bored.

Ichigo walked inside to find a bathroom. The walls looked like they were starting to rot, and the stalls were closed. There was disturbing smell inside the room, like a rotting corpse. The lights were off, of course, so Ichigo had to rely on his flashlight. Looking around, he saw a red box on the ground. Picking it up, he realized they were more handgun bullets. He dropped the box, letting the small metal bullets fall out. "We don't need those," he said. "I even left the handgun in the bus." He paused. "Actually, I don't remember putting that back. What happened to it?" Before he could think on it, he realized that the only thing in the bathroom was stalls and sinks. His eyes opened wide as he began to blush. He quickly ran out of the bathroom, and slammed the door shut. He glanced up at the sign on the door to see a pink figure with a skirt. "Oh damn! This is the girls' bathroom!"

Hiyori came rushing out of the room she was in. "What?" she asked, frantically. "What happened? I heard the door slam!"

"I was in the girls' bathroom!" Ichigo yelled.

Hiyori just stared at him. "So?"

"So?" Ichigo repeated. His face was red. "What do you mean so?"

"It's not like there's anyone here to see you!" Hiyori yelled. "So what's the big deal?"

"Nevermind," Ichigo grumbled.

"You have a real problem with girls, don't you?"

"Just drop it!"

"Well, did you find anything in there?" she asked.

"Not really," Ichigo replied.

"Not really, or no?"

"No!"

"Neither did I," Hiyori said. "It was the boys' bathroom. I have to say, you boys make a room smell like crap!"

"Yeah, well, so did the girls' bathroom!" Ichigo snapped.

Naruto was standing in front of another wooden door. He searched all up and down the hallway. The only doors were on the left side of the hall. He turned the knob, but it wouldn't budge. "Fells like the lock is broken," Naruto said. "There's no going through this door." He walked down the hall, towards where Ichigo and Hiyori were, to find another door. He turned the knob, but got the exact same result. So, disappointed, he waited by the door for a few minutes until Ichigo walked up with Hiyori. He glanced over at them and asked, "Did you find anything?"

To add more disappointment, they both shook their heads. Naruto frowned. "Well, what now?"

"We go to the next wing, obviously," Hiyori said, matter-of-factly. "What else did you have in mind?"

Naruto noticed some fresh blood on Hiyori's jacket. "How'd that happen?" he asked.

"Found a monster where I was looking," she replied.

"And it cut you?"

"Hell no! This is the bastard's blood, not mine!"

Ichigo asked, "So what did you find?"

Naruto made a groaning noise. "Nothing! Both of the doors up here are broken!"

"Broken? How?" Ichigo asked.

"The locks," Naruto answered. "They're jammed or something."

Ichigo began to cross out the two doors that were up ahead on the map. "So I guess we move on to the next wing."

As they walked, Naruto turned to Hiyori and asked, "So are you a soul reaper too?"

Surprised, Hiyori replied sharply, "Hell no! Soul reapers are the most useless things that exist! Except maybe for ninjas."

Ignoring her insult, Naruto asked, "Then what are you?"

"I'm a Vizard," she replied. "So is Ichigo, he just keeps thinking he's a soul reaper for some reason."

"I am a soul reaper, dammit!"

"So what's a Vizard?" Naruto inquired.

"A Vizard is a former soul reaper that managed to awaken the Hollow within them," Hiyori answered.

"I thought a Hollow was an evil spirit," Naruto replied.

"It is," Ichigo said. "You just have to learn to control it first."

"Or else you become a Hollow?"

"Yeah," Ichigo said. "But normal spirits don't become Vizards. Only a soul reaper can become a Vizard."

"So you learned to control it, right, Ichigo?" Naruto asked.

Ichigo was silent for a moment, and then replied, "Yeah." Hiyori chuckled slightly.

They reached the metal double doors on the far side of the hallway. The doors were on the right side, and to their left was a set of stairs, leading up. "There's another floor?" Naruto moaned.

"Obviously, dumbass," Hiyori retorted.

Ignoring the stairs, they pushed open the double doors, walking into the next wing. It was as dark as all the others. Once again, Naruto's radio began to static like crazy.

Only one monster emerged from the shadows. Its knife glistened in the light of the flashlights. It stumbled towards them, knife high in the air.

Naruto drew his kunai and launched himself at the creature, eager to prove himself to Hiyori. _I'll show her that I can be stronger than her!_ The knives clashed. Naruto spun around, using his kunai to cut the monster's leg. It started to fall, and he swung upwards to slit its throat. Blood dribbled from the clean cut. It coughed, chocking on its own blood. Unable to breathe, it collapsed and died.

Naruto stood over the body, triumphant. As he smirked, Hiyori yelled, "Watch out, you idiot! The radio didn't stop!"

Naruto turned around just in time to narrowly dodge another knife. It managed to cut his already torn shirt. Naruto kicked the creature away from him, as another came lumbering from the shadows. Naruto could see one monster with his light, but the other kept slipping in and out of the shadows.

Naruto jumped backwards, temporarily losing sight of both monsters. Once he landed, Hiyori grabbed his collar and threw him back against the wall.

"Let me do this," she ordered.

"No way!" Naruto argued. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" He threw his hand back, letting his clone swirl the air around it. He charged with a blue sphere in his hand. "Rasengan!" he yelled, pushing his attack into the creature. It ripped a hole in its chest, blood flowing everywhere. Once the Rasengan had faded, Naruto elbow smashed the other creature in the face, which was already lumbering towards him. He grabbed the monster's shoulders, kunai still in hand, and kneed it in the stomach. It doubled over and Naruto kicked it in the face. Blood obscured its face. Naruto huffed, trying to catch his breath. Then he used a roundhouse kick to knock the creature to the ground. Using his kunai, he stabbed it in the neck, and forced the knife out through the side. Blood covered Naruto's hands as he stood up. The creature struggled to stay alive, but it quickly died.

Hiyori stared, a little shocked. "Well, I wasn't expecting that."

"So," Naruto began, smirking. "Was that useless?"

"Just barely above the line," Hiyori replied. "Look at how much energy you spent taking down three monsters!"

Naruto hadn't noticed before, but his chakra level was pretty low for that battle. "The Rasengan did use a lot of energy," Naruto admitted.

"Rasengan?" Hiyori asked. "Was that the technique you just used?"

"Yeah," Naruto answered.

"All right," Ichigo said, taking out the map. "Let's see, there's a storage room to our left." He pointed to a door. Then there's just another plain old door next to that, and to our right is a door that leads to the courtyard. And on the far left side is a door that leads to a random hallway. So we'll ignore the courtyard for now, so there are three doors. One for each of us."

Each went to a door. Ichigo turned the knob that lead to the storage room, but the lock was jammed. "Damn," he said, frustrated.

Hiyori opened the double doors that led into the back room. There, she found two of those monsters. She drew her sword, using flash step to cut through one's head, killing it. The other, she turned, using her leg to trip the monster. She then stood up, and dug her blade into the monster's face. Blood lined the walls. There was another door on the other side of the room. She went to open it, but it seemed jammed. She huffed and left the room. She sat down in front of the doors to see Ichigo beside his door. Turning to her right, she saw Naruto doing the same thing.

They all stood up and regrouped. "Okay," Naruto said. "There's nothing here, let's go to the next wing."

They walked to the double doors on the next side, but when the tried to open them, they wouldn't budge. Ichigo pulled out his map. "Check it out; we can get to the same hallway if we go back to the bottom wing. Because the top wing, which is where we are now, and the bottom wing are both connected to the right wing."

So, agreeing, they all traveled through the school to the hallway that they first arrived in. They traveled to the infirmary, which was next to the set of doors that they needed to go through. They tried to open these doors as well, but had the same luck as before.

"What now?" Naruto asked Ichigo.

He pulled out the map yet again. He studied it for a minute, and then snapped his fingers, having an idea. "Look," he said. "If we go up to the second floor, then we can go to the right wing up there. That wing had another set of stairs that will lead down, and we'll be in the right wing on the first floor!"

Naruto took a glance at the map, seeing exactly what Ichigo meant. "All right, let's go!"

They all walked back to the left wing, seeing no monsters on their way.

"So," Naruto turned to Ichigo. "What should we call these monsters?"

Hiyori looked surprised. "You actually name them?" She asked.

"It's so we know what we're talking about, instead of saying monster," Ichigo explained.

"Whatever you want to do," Hiyori replied.

"I think just Knife would be good," Ichigo said. "They're the only ones that carry weapons so far."

"Knife?" Hiyori repeated. "Only a dumbass would think of something as plain as that!"

"We don't need a complicated name!" Ichigo snapped.

They reached the stairs. "Whatever," Hiyori replied.

They stood there for a moment, looking into the ascending darkness. Naruto gulped. Ichigo coughed. They took a step, and began to ascend the stairs, unknowing of the horrors that may lie before them.

121


	11. Chapter 11: Alternation

Chapter XI

**Alternation**

The darkness of the stairs enveloped the group as they traveled up the never ending stairs. Their lights reflected off the walls, creating a slight amount of light to aid them as they walked. A creeping feeling surrounded them, turning their blood to ice in their veins. Chills ran up their spines, as if some kind of monster would emerge from the shadows ahead of them.

They arrived on the second floor. The layout was exactly the same as the first floor. A very disturbing noise echoed through the halls. It gave the group an ominous feeling. It sounded like a wailing animal or metal on metal, obnoxious and loud. It came from no direction in particular, it just echoed.

They stood in the stairway for a minute, not knowing where to go next. Naruto's radio started to static violently. "I guess there's a few up here too," Naruto said.

They got into a battle stance. Slowly, they moved down the hall, their light their only source of vision. Suddenly, a black figure began to form in the light. It crept towards them cautiously. Once it became visible, it turned out to be another Knife. Wobbling towards them, it groaned, raising its weapon.

Ichigo drew Zangetsu and launched himself at the creature. Using one slash, he killed the monster in an instant. Blood stained the floor, but the static did not cease.

Waiting patiently, Ichigo turned from side to side, using his light to see where the next creature might be. It quickly showed itself, and Ichigo used a horizontal slash to gut the creeping monster. The third Knife emerged from the shadows as well, and Naruto threw a shuriken at its head, killing it. The shuriken bounced off of its head, ricocheting in some weird direction.

"Damn," Naruto complained. "Now I only have eleven!"

"You still have enough," Hiyori observed. "At least you killed it!"

Naruto shrugged. "Yeah, but I need as many as I can get!"

Ichigo held up his hand, signaling for them to be quiet. Hiyori and Naruto stopped talking and listened into the darkness. "Do you hear that?" Ichigo asked.

"What?" Naruto replied.

"The radio hasn't stopped," Ichigo answered.

"Oh yeah," Naruto chuckled. "It's always going off! I just got used to it, I guess."

Hiyori hit him over the head. "Don't take it so lightly!" she yelled. "It's still a threat!"

Rubbing his head, Naruto yelled back, "I know!"

"Just shut up!" Ichigo ordered. "Follow me!" He clung to the wall and started to shift down the hallway. Naruto did the same. Hiyori walked down the hallway normally, refusing to cling to a wall.

Ichigo began to sweat as the radio got louder and louder. The darkness seemed to glow up ahead. Ichigo felt something cold on his hands. Looking down, he noticed a door knob.

A sharp metallic sound echoed throughout the hallway. Ichigo's attention snapped up. He say a yellow light illuminate the hall just up ahead. A huge figure stood in the hallway. It had a massive head, but it was still too dark to see clearly. Ichigo snapped off his flashlight. Naruto got the hint, and did the same. As Hiyori walked up, she also turned off her light. The creature turned towards the group, breathing very heavily.

It did not move. Ichigo was unsure if it even saw them. A very dark feeling overtook the group, drowning them in fear. Even Hiyori fell to her knees.

She stared at the ground, eyes shut tight. Ichigo couldn't believe his eyes. He's never seen her act afraid or weak in any way. His eyes focused on the creature again. It looked like it was carrying something. Whatever it was, it was large and long, like a giant sword. Naruto stared as well, unsure what to do. His radio was going haywire. It was louder and more frantic then ever. It sounded as though it would burst.

Ichigo whispered to Naruto, "Look, this door leads to a classroom. Each classroom has two entrances. We can go in through here, and use the other door to flank this guy."

Naruto nodded. Ichigo turned the knob, and it opened with a click. He stepped inside, Naruto close behind. Hiyori stayed outside, on her knees. Ichigo reached for her. Once he grabbed her shoulder, his eyes grew wide. He quickly dragged her inside and shut the door.

Naruto said to Ichigo, "Hey, we have company!"

Two Knives came stumbling towards them. "Take care of them!" Ichigo ordered. As Naruto drew a kunai and fought, Ichigo shook Hiyori gently. "Snap out of it, dammit!"

She stared to the side, ignoring Ichigo, still on her knees. _She's shaking,_ Ichigo thought, amazed.

"You didn't notice?" Hiyori asked, her voice shaky and weak.

"Notice what?"

"Well," she replied. "You were never good at sensing spiritual pressure. That thing out there. Its energy was," she paused, searching for the right words. "Horrible." A small tear dripped down her face.

"What's wrong with you?" Ichigo yelled. "I thought you were stronger than this!"

Hearing Ichigo yell, Naruto glanced over, only to barely dodging a knife nearly cutting open his arm. He instantly refocused on his fight.

"You don't get it!" Hiyori yelled. "That kind of twisted spiritual pressure would make Aizen afraid, okay?"

Ichigo thought back to the time he fought Aizen. He was at his best, having just defeated the great Byakuya Kuchiki. Even Renji was by his side. Renji was able to distract Aizen with a brilliant new attack, and Ichigo charged with all his strength, yet Aizen was able to stop his blade with one finger. His next attack couldn't even be seen. In one move, he cut Ichigo and Renji down, until they were defenseless. Ichigo thought about the creature he saw, and chills ran through his spine. Then he thought about Aizen cowering in fear. No matter how hard he tried that picture of Aizen in a corner. Curled up, just couldn't form in his mind. It didn't seem possible for Aizen to be afraid of anything.

Ichigo let go of Hiyori and checked on Naruto. Two corpses were lying on the ground, covered in blood, with Naruto standing triumphant above them.

He came over to Ichigo and Hiyori, sheathing his kunai. "What now?" Naruto asked.

"We have to kill that thing we saw in the hallway," Ichigo replied.

Naruto gazed down at Hiyori, who was still shaking. She avoided eye contact with him. "What's wrong with her?"

"She's a little shaken up from that thing," Ichigo said.

"Shut up," Hiyori snapped her voice still calm. "I'm fine." She stood up, and lost her balance, but she managed to regain her footing before she fell.

Ichigo caught her. Noticing that Ichigo's hands were supporting her, on her stomach and shoulder, she elbowed him in the gut. "Get off," she mumbled.

Out of breath, Ichigo coughed, grabbing his stomach. "You bitch!" he yelled.

Hiyori walked towards the second entrance door, only to nearly fall again. She used her hand to hang onto a nearby desk. She sat herself on top of it.

Ichigo, now fully recovered, and Naruto walked over to Hiyori. She stood up next to them. "Let's go," she ordered.

"Are you okay?" Naruto asked, covering his gut in case Hiyori decided to pull another sneak attack.

"I'm fine; I just needed to rest for a second." Any sign that Hiyori had cried or was even scared had completely vanished.

Ichigo walked over to the door, grabbing the knob. He took a deep breath, turned, and stepped through the entrance. Naruto and Hiyori followed.

They were back outside into the hall. The darkness once again surrounded them. They looked around for a second, but saw nothing. There was only silence. Even Naruto's radio had stopped making any noise what so ever.

A bright light illuminated the room. It came from Ichigo, who had turned on his flash light once again. Hiyori and Naruto did the same.

They observed the hallway, but absolutely nothing was there. "Where the hell did that thing go?" Ichigo wondered.

"I don't know," Hiyori replied, getting a sinking feeling in her stomach. Her eyes nervously glanced from side to side. _What the hell?_ She thought. _Why in the world am I acting like this?_

"I guess we have no choice but to keep moving," Ichigo announced. "We still need to get over to the right wing, so we can take the stairs."

Naruto nodded, and they started to walk towards the end of the hall, not seeing a single monster within that hall. They quickly saw the double doors to their left, and pushed them open. They walked into a long hallway which didn't seem to have as many rooms. The whole right side was open. It revealed the first floor, which was as dark as the second. A mysterious noise echoed in the hallway. It sounded like a piano, continuously crashing down a long flight of stairs.

A bead of sweat dripped down Naruto's face. He looked around the hallway, only seeing slight amounts of the wing, due to the limited light. "It's too quiet," he observed.

"What are you talking about?" Hiyori asked. "You idiot, there's some kind of annoying noise all around us!"

"I meant the radio isn't going off!" Naruto snapped.

"You're right," Ichigo acknowledged. "I guess this hallway must be safe. Well, let's get started then."

Without hesitation, the three searched the hallway. Two doors were on their right side. Each took a door. Naruto stood at his door, while Ichigo and Hiyori stood at the other door. Naruto pushed the door open. He walked inside the dark room, alone. His light reflected off of a lot of metal. All around him there were lockers.

"What is this?" Naruto wondered, looking around the room. "Must be some kind of storage room thing." He was silent. Faintly, he could hear a weak whimpering near him. "What the hell is that?"

He walked to the end of the room. There was another row of lockers, so he walked down that. His light shone on a small figure, crouched down. It looked no more than a mere boy. "Hey," Naruto called out calmly. He reached out his hand.

The boy turned towards Naruto, his face was full of tears, and his eyes were a cold black. He had long black hair, that stuck up in the back. His bangs were pushed to either side of his face.

Naruto's eyes grew wide. Slowly, he mouthed the word, "Sasuke?"

The boy got up and ran past Naruto, pushing him aside as he ran. Naruto called out, "Sasuke! Wait!" He ran after the boy, wandering back into the hallway. The boy ran down the hall, and Naruto chased him.

Naruto ran with all his might, trying to catch the fleeing boy, but no matter how fast he ran, the boy still eluded him.

The boy pushed open the metal double doors at the end of the hall. Naruto did the same, adrenaline pulsing through every fiber of his being. "Sasuke, wait!" His flashlight bounced off of the walls, revealing a solid wall. Naruto turned a corner and continued to chase the boy.

He came to a stop at the end of the new hallway. He wheezed, trying to catch his breath. "Damn," he said. "Sasuke, where are you?" He paused. "But why were you so young? He looked like he did back when we were at the Ninja Academy. But it was definitely Sasuke, no doubt about it!"

Suddenly, his radio began to static, furiously. Turning, Naruto saw two Knives wobbling towards him. Putting up his fists, Naruto grumbled, "I guess I'll have to take care of these guys!" Naruto fought, and defeated the monsters with ease. They couldn't even touch him. They lie on the ground, faces full of blood.

"That takes care of that," Naruto sighed. "I have to keep looking for Sasuke." He opened the double doors to his left. "I think I'm in the top hallway now."

As he walked through the doorway, his radio started to static again, more furiously then ever. It sounded like it was going to break. Naruto heard a crackling sound, as the floor itself disintegrated. Bits of the floor ripped off like paper, disintegrating as it lifted upwards. Naruto stared in wonder, as the floors and walls were replaced with rusted fences. The whole aura of the hallway changed. Blood was smeared all over. Behind the fences, bodies hung on the rusted walls. They were too mangled to even tell if they were once human. Barbed wire kept them in the air. Naruto began to grow fearful as he heard large fans in the distance, turning. As he ran, his feet made loud clanging noises on the fence that he walked on.

"Even the floor?" Naruto yelled. "What's with this hallway? I thought I've been here before!" He quickly reached the end of the hall and pushed the doors open. To his horror, he saw that the next hallway was exactly the same. His radio was going crazy. Loud, rushed sounds clanged against the fence ahead of him. It was no longer that dark. The whole room was filled with a horrible red aura. Still, Naruto kept his light on. The scurrying sounds quickly drew closer. Naruto saw horrible shaped creatures running towards him. But they were scaling the walls. They came at a blinding speed. Naruto could only count a few before they were on top of him.

Naruto dodged their first blow, but one behind him, bit at his back. Naruto elbowed the creature in the face. Its skin felt rough. Naruto jumped into the air, dodging a swing to his legs. He landed a few feet from the creatures. Now he had time to count. There were four in total. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Naruto yelled, not wasting any time. There were now four Narutos as well. They fought valiantly, but the clones were easily disposed of, except one. Naruto knew what to do. Preparing his ultimate attack, Naruto, with a powerful sphere in his hand, charged at one of the creatures. "Rasengan!" he yelled.

To his dismay, the creature easily dodged the attack, but jumping over Naruto. It landed on the clone, its sharp claws piercing the clone's body. It disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Frustrated, Naruto cursed, "Dammit! What now?" He balled his fists in fury.

As one of the things leapt, Naruto kicked its gut. It fell to the floor, and quickly regained its composure. Naruto, unsure of what to do next, reaches into his pocket. He takes out the handgun, slipping in a clip of bullets. "Simple enough," Naruto said, as he easily figured out how the clip goes into the gun. He aimed the gun, the barrel pointing towards his face. "Crap, this doesn't seem right," Naruto noticed, flipping the gun around.

The monsters watched carefully, out of curiosity. Naruto aimed the gun at one of the monsters and pulled the trigger. He felt a slight force push his hands back, as a large amount of blood came rushing out of one of the monsters. It fell to the floor, writhing in pain. Naruto was amazed. He decided not to blow his chance by admiring the lethalness of the gun. He pulls the trigger again, this time hitting a creature in the skull, instantly killing it.

The other two monsters became wise and shifted positions to attack. They started scaling the walls yet again, charging at Naruto. Naruto fired the gun three times; none of the bullets hit their targets. One of the monsters leapt at Naruto, who easily dodged. Taking the opportunity, Naruto shot the creature in the head.

The other creature stayed careful, not daring to let Naruto attack first. Naruto threw the gun up into the air. The monster glared at the gun, taking all of its attention off of Naruto, who had reached for a shuriken, and threw it. The sharp weapon dug into the monster's neck, blood poured everywhere. Naruto caught the gun before it hit the ground. "Just as I planned," he grinned. He ran through the hallway, now searching for Ichigo and Hiyori.

"What the hell is going on?" Ichigo wondered. He and Hiyori were still in their room, which was open, and had a piano in the middle, on top of a wooden floor. At least, that's what it looked like before everything changed. Now the floor was nothing but a fence. The piano was covered in blood, which was also smeared on the walls.

"Let's get the hell out of here," Hiyori suggested. Ichigo had no complaints, and he followed her out.

The hallway was no different than the piano room. They ran down the hall, trying to get away. "Wait," Ichigo said. "We can't forget Naruto!"

Hiyori sighed, obviously annoyed. "You're too soft, Ichigo!"

They ran back to the locker room and went inside. They ran to the end of the room, and down the next row of lockers. The end wall also had blood all over it. Only one locker was opened, and Ichigo looked inside. It had blood dripping from it. A foul smell emerged from it. Observing the inside, Ichigo saw some kind of organ was rotting inside. Ichigo instantly threw up, all over the floor.

"Way to go!" Hiyori said, throwing her hands up in the air. "That's what you get for trying to rescue the kid. I thought you might have figured out that he wouldn't be here. That kid can't sit still if you paid him!"

Ichigo wiped his mouth on his sleeve. "Shut up," he managed to say.

They left the locker room, now in search of Naruto. As they ran, they entered a new hallway. They turned a corner to find that bodies hung menacingly on their left. They were being hung by barbed wire. Hiyori's eyes grew wide.

"What the hell?" Hiyori said, shocked. "Even my Hollow didn't freak me out this much!"

Ichigo didn't have a reply. They quickly entered another hallway. They saw four shaped ahead of them. Ichigo stopped short. "What are those things?" he asked.

They walked up to the shapes, and Naruto saw that they were monsters. "I haven't seen these kind before," he said, preparing to draw Zangetsu.

Hiyori placed her hand on Ichigo's blade, signaling for him to stand down.

"You can't be the one to always fight!" Ichigo complained.

"That's not it!" Hiyori snapped. "Look closer, you dumbass! They're dead!"

Looking more closely, Ichigo saw that they creatures were lying in a pool of their own blood. Feeling stupid, he let go of Zangetsu. "What's going on here?"

"The hell if I know," Hiyori replied, observing the hallway around them.

The disturbing scene of blood and mangled bodies was enough to make anyone sick to their stomach.

"What do we do now?" Ichigo asked.

"We have to find Naruto before he gets killed."

"Was he the one to do this?" Ichigo asked, nodding towards the corpses that lie on the ground.

"So," Hiyori began, ignoring Ichigo's question. "Do you want to name these things too?"

Sighing, Ichigo said, "I wouldn't even know what the hell to call these freaks."

Hiyori started to walk down the hall. "Let's keep moving, we need to find Naruto."

Ichigo agreed, and they began to travel down the hall. "We should head for the right wing," he suggested.

"Why's that?"

"Because I'm beginning to understand Naruto," Ichigo replied. "He's a thick headed kid, who really wants to find this Sasuke. So even though we're not with him, he's going to go ahead looking for him, and our plan was to go to the right wing, because it has stairs that will lead downstairs to the first floor right wing, which we couldn't get to earlier."

"Fine," she agreed.

They circled around the second floor, moving through the hallways, trying to reach the right wing. They push open a door and rush into the next hallway. Ichigo ran forward, and then stopped at the sound of scurrying on the walls. "What the hell?"

Three monsters lunged at him in all directions. "It's those creatures that we saw earlier!" Ichigo yelled, as one latched onto him arm. He tried to shake it off, but its claws dug into Ichigo's arm, causing blood to spill from his cut. Pain seared into his wound as the sharp claw ripped through his flesh.

Hiyori took a step forward to help, but one of the monsters attacked her as well. It lunged at her, but she managed to dodge. Drawing her sword, Hiyori slashed the creature's back.

It fell to the floor. Blood spilling everywhere, but it got back up, looking for another fight. As Hiyori prepared for another round, she felt a stab of pain and fear envelope her body. She grabbed her face, flailing her sword wildly. "Damn!" she yelled. "It hurts!"

Ichigo threw the creature off of his arm. He drew Zangetsu, but felt the same pain as Hiyori. He clutched his blade as he fell to his knees. He screamed into the air. "Dammit!"

_You're too weak!_ A chilling voice said into Ichigo's ear.

_What the hell are you doing here?_ Ichigo asked the voice. _That must be what Hiyori is feeling! Her Hollow must be coming out too! I,_ he paused. _I don't know if I can control it anymore!_

All of a sudden, all the way down the hall, a fourth monster was violently thrown against the wall. Blood smeared the wall, and as the monster slumped to the ground, its rib cage was visible, and splintered all over the ground. The monsters near Ichigo and Hiyori hissed and went to investigate. A figure came from the shadows. It kicked the second monster, its leg going clean through the monster's stomach. Blood poured all over. With a flick, the figure got his leg free just in time to grab another monster's jaw. The monster tried to snap its jaw shut, but the figure used both hands to rip the monster in half. Blood exploded onto the floor. The last monster growled and lunged. The figure grabbed the creature's neck, and shoved it against a wall so hard, that its back exploded in blood and bone, killing it instantly.

The figure stood there, relishing in its victory. Its head turned, seeing Ichigo and Hiyori writhing in pain.

Once the creatures were killed, Ichigo no longer felt his Hollow in his head. Apparently, neither did Hiyori, as she was already standing.

The figure walked towards them. Once it was in the light, Ichigo saw that he had very long black hair that spiked up. He wore some kind of white battle armor over a tight blue jumpsuit. He had white gloves and boots. The tips of his boots were yellow, as was the stomach plate to his armor. He had a mean expression, and his clothes were covered in black blood.

"Who," Ichigo stuttered. "Who are you?"

With a gruff voice, the man replied, "I am Vegeta. Who the hell are you?"

"I'm Ichigo Kurosaki."

"Hiyori Sarugaki."

"Hey," Ichigo said. "You're the one I saw earlier, in the street! You made all those explosions!"

"Perhaps," Vegeta replied. "I don't remember, I've killed so many things here."

"What are you doing here, anyway?" Hiyori asked.

"That's none of your concern!" Vegeta snapped.

Frustrated, Hiyori yelled back, "Oh yeah? I say I have every right to know what the hell you're doing here!"

"You have some nerve talking to the guy who just saved your sorry selves from getting killed by nothing more than a pathetic monster!"

Hiyori gritted her teeth. "I could have killed it!"

"You were writhing in pain!" Vegeta said. "And if you don't get out of my way, I'll make sure that you stay that way!"

"Bring it on, dipshit!" Hiyori taunted.

"Hey!" Ichigo stepped in. "We can't waste time fighting!" He turned to Vegeta. ":Just tell us what you're doing here."

Vegeta sighed and crossed his arms. "We sensed some strange energy coming from here. Worse than anything we've ever felt before."

Confused, Ichigo asked, "We? There are more of you?"

"Yes," Vegeta replied, slightly annoyed. "There's me, Kakarot, his son Gohan, and myself."

"We haven't seen them," Ichigo said. "Do you have any idea what's wrong with this place?"

"No," Vegeta answered. "But it does provide training sufficient to my own strength! If only the gravity was five hundred times stronger."

"What?" Hiyori exclaimed. "Five hundred times? You're crazy, no one can do that!"

"Try me," Vegeta threatened.

"I'll kick your ass!" Hiyori exclaimed.

Ichigo grabbed her collar. "Not today, you won't." He paused. "Forget about it, we need to find Naruto."

Hiyori calmed down. "I don't like this guy," she grumbled.

"Like I give a damn," Vegeta replied.

Hiyori's face grew red with anger. "I'll kill him!"

Ichigo held onto her collar even tighter. He began to drag her away. "Are you coming with us, Vegeta?" He tried to yell over Hiyori's ranting.

"Why would I do that?" Vegeta asked. "You'd just slow me down!"

"Suit yourself," Ichigo replied.

"I'm glad he's not coming!" Hiyori yelled, frantically. "I'd rather go on a date with Naruto than travel with that jackass! I'd rather fight Aizen with both arms tied behind my back, and blindfolded!"

Ichigo finally dragged her away into another hallway. The doors closed behind him, making Vegeta invisible to him.

Hiyori sighed once Ichigo let go of her. She crossed her arms and sat for a while.

Ichigo checked his map. "Looks like we should be here," he said. "Let's find the stairs."

They easily found the staircase that lead downstairs. They descended into the darkness, and wound up in another demented looking hallway, filled with massacre and bloodshed. Ichigo observed some deep cuts in the walls. The dead monsters had clean cuts through their bodies. Fresh blood stained the floor and walls.

"Looks like Naruto's been through here," Hiyori said.

"No," Ichigo replied. "These cuts on the walls couldn't have been made by his kunai knife."

"Why's that?"

"Because a kunai knife is a one hand weapon. He doesn't need much room to use it. Whatever made these cuts was using a real long weapon. And sharp too." He walked over to the corpses. "And it must have been recent too. This blood's fresh."

Hiyori shuddered at the thought of whatever left this mess. "Maybe it was that big headed thing."

"Maybe," Ichigo replied. "Even so, Naruto has to be in this hallway. Let's find him."

They walked around, moving through the halls, but to no avail. No matter where they searched, they could not find any trace of Naruto, besides a few dead corpses, or traces of his energy. They finally wound up in a dark classroom with three Knives. With little effort, Ichigo and Hiyori disposed of them. They sat on the desks, calculating their next move.

"So," Ichigo began. "Who do you think that was back there?"

"Who?" Hiyori replied. "Vegeta?" Ichigo nodded. Her face grew red with anger. "I think he's the most pig headed, dumb, annoying dick head I've ever seen!"

With a blank stare, Ichigo answered, "I meant do you think he's human?"

"Of course not! No human could do that to any monster!"

"That's what I thought," Ichigo replied. "His spiritual pressure was out of control. Do you think he's the reason our Hollows were getting stronger?"

Quickly, Hiyori snapped, "What are you talking about? I have my Hollow under control!"

Ichigo grew angry. "Don't play me like an idiot! I saw you were in just as much pain as I was!"

Avoiding his gaze, Hiyori replied, "Yeah? So maybe my Hollow was getting a little stronger, why do you care?"

"Because it's a pretty big freaking deal!" Ichigo answered sharply.

Suddenly, Ichigo and Hiyori both got a sickening feeling. They felt like throwing up. "What is that?" Ichigo asked. He saw Hiyori beginning to tremble. _There's only one thing I've ever seen make her do that, _he thought. "Get into the closet now!" Ichigo pointed to the cabinet in the back of the room.

Hiyori was too frightened to even make a remark about going into a closet with Ichigo. Instead, she simply obeyed him, and they slipped into the closet, waiting. They quickly heard a door open. A sharp cutting sound scraped against the ground. Ichigo stared out the crack of the door. He turned of his flash light, and reached for Hiyori's on her chest.

Despite being afraid, she slapped his hand with a menacing look on her face.

Irritated, Ichigo pointed to the light. Suddenly understanding, Hiyori turned off her own light.

Staring out the crack, Ichigo saw the same creature as earlier, with the very large head. It was easier to see now. Its head was clearly made of metal, and in a pyramid shape, the nose of which was elongated to resemble an elongated right triangle, in a three dimensional look. It looked like a man, his chest bare. He wore a dark yellow apron, stained deeply with blood. His muscles were very defined. Behind him, he carried a very large piece of sharp metal, which looked like an oversized version of Ichigo's Zangetsu, just rusted.

Ichigo stared with horror as the creature moved about the room, dragging his sword behind him.

Hiyori heard scurrying noises at her feet, but were unlike the sounds of the monsters that climbed the walls. Looking down, she saw rat sized cockroaches on the floor. She let out a sharp yelp, but Ichigo caught her mouth. She lifted her foot, and stomped on one of the little creatures, crushing beneath her weight. Blood and pus oozed onto the floor, and covered her foot. She groaned softly.

The giant monster carried its sword as it walked to the other door. It used swung its blade with extreme force, slashing the door into bits. It walked out of the room, stepping through the hole it just made, the cockroaches following him. Once he was sure it was safe, Ichigo let go of Hiyori, and stepped out of the closet.

Hiyori followed, wiping her foot on the ground. "This is disgusting! What the hell is this stuff?"

"You seem a little less shaken up than last time," Ichigo noticed.

"Kiss my ass," Hiyori replied. She walked to Ichigo side, staring out the doorway. "Where do you think it's going?"

"I don't know," Ichigo replied. "But I hope it doesn't find Naruto before we do!"

Naruto walked aimlessly down the dark hallway. _That damn wing I came from didn't have anything!_ He thought. _I don't even know where I am now!_ "Dammit," he said. "I chased Sasuke down here, but now I have no idea where he went!" He continued to walk around. He checked room after room.

"All these rooms seem to be real demented versions of the rooms we saw before. What's going on?"

Naruto walked around, trying desperately to find Sasuke Uchiha. He opened door after door. Some rooms had monsters, some were completely empty. He wound up in a classroom with four Knives in it.

Sweating, Naruto said, "This is going to be a tough one." He formed a hand sign. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" He now had three clones, evening the odds. "Man," he breathed heavily. "I'm running low on Chakra!"

The Knives attacked, but Naruto and his clones were faster. They dodged every blow, and countered with attacks of their own. The monsters were knocked on the ground. One by one, they got back up, and clumsily attacked again.

Naruto countered again, constantly dodging and attacking the monsters. "You can't get me!" Naruto taunted. "I'll pulverize you!"

With a quick flurry of blows, Naruto defeated every one of the monsters. They slumped to the ground, groaning. "You're not as tough as those things that climb the walls, so at least I don't have to worry about you guys!" He smirked triumphantly.

He stopped his celebration and looked at the monsters. "Wait, one, two, and three? Where's the fourth guy?"

As if it was his cue, the last monster lashed out from behind Naruto, managing to cut his arm deeply. Naruto howled in pain, grabbing his new wound. He kept the monster at bay by kicking it away.

It hit the wall, where it stood back up, and waited, recalculating its next strategy. It watched Naruto carefully, deciding what to do next.

Naruto's hand was trembling. "Damn," he cursed. "What should I do now?" After a short second of thinking, Naruto said, "Well, at least I backed him up against a wall. I can win. These guys are weak!" He smirked.

The monster charged, and Naruto leapt into the air, using his leg to kick out at smash the creature on the head. It fell backwards, knocking into some desks. Naruto turned to face his opponent. "Time to end this," he said. He charged. Once he was close enough, he punched the monster in the gut, making it double over. Using his knee, he crashed into its skull. Then he grabbed its arm before it could fall to the ground. He pulled the monster towards him, using his other hand to punch it in the face.

The monster hit the ground and fell unconscious. Naruto stood over his enemy. "I," he paused. "I know it's trying to kill me, but I can't kill anymore! It's fine if I leave it there. It won't do any harm." He left the room to pursue Sasuke.

He wandered the halls for a while, trying to find his fallen comrade. His determination and willpower were the only things that pushed Naruto to move through this demented world of horror and gore. He moved from room to room, but still could find nothing. He took out anything he found, but not a single human could be found. Naruto finally wound up in the hallway that he, Hiyori, and Ichigo and entered from. He walked up and down, unsure of what to do next. Finally, he decided on looking in the courtyard. He pushed open the wooden double doors and went through.

The outside was dark and cold. Ash still fell and the sun was nowhere to be found. Everything felt rusted and evil. Large metal fans blew in the distance, slowly and ominously. Naruto walked a few feet ahead. His radio suddenly went crazy with static. Alarmed, Naruto turned around to see a large figure. It knocked with such force that Naruto was pushed back into a wall on the other side of the courtyard. Once he regained his consciousness a few seconds later, Naruto looked up to see the large monster with a pyramid shaped head and a very large sword which resembled more of a sharp hunk of metal than a blade. Naruto instantly stood up, growing full of fear.

Large cockroaches littered the floor. Naruto gritted his teeth. "Shit!" he cursed. The large monster swung his sword over his head. Naruto narrowly rolled out of the way. He rolled onto cockroaches, crushing them. Some bit at him as he rolled. While rolling, Naruto threw three shuriken, which dug themselves into the giant monster. "Dammit!"

Naruto prepared a shadow clone. Using his ultimate attack, Naruto charged at the monster with a powerful blue sphere in his hand. "Rasengan!" he yelled. He hit the creature dead on, but it could not pierce its skin. Naruto did a back flip to avoid the monster's blade.

Naruto landed. Not knowing what else to do, he drew the handgun and fired two shots. Once again, it seemed to do absolutely nothing. "Crap!"

Naruto made four shadow clones. "Here we go!" he yelled. "Here's one I haven't used in a while!"

The clones got onto each side of the monster's side, making a square. They kicked at his legs, and knocked him into the air. Due to his sheer weight, the monster only went a few feet into the air. Naruto, flipping through the air, used his leg to slam the creature's head. But his leg hit the creature's head all right, which is made of metal. Naruto fell to the ground in pain, holding his leg.

The monster landed and began to move towards Naruto. It swung its mighty sword. Doing another back flip, Naruto barely dodged it. He suffered a deep gash on his back as he flipped. Blood spilled to the floor. Naruto kept his head down, as he rested on one knee. "This time," he said, anger filling his voice. A slight red aura glowed around his entire body. "I finish this!" he yelled as he lifted his head. He grew fangs and his eyes glowed a deep red. His pupil elongated to resemble a cat's eye. His nails also grew in size, and grew much sharper.

Naruto, in a frenzied state, charged at the monster. He made a fist, and punched at the creature's chest. He made a direct hit, but the monster seemed unfazed. Naruto began to sweat, but didn't give up his flurry of blows. He punched everywhere, but the monster looked as if he couldn't even feel it.

It lifted its blade and swung down. Naruto dodged again. With a new kind of speed, Naruto managed to dodge much more easily than before. "I can't even hurt this guy," Naruto growled. He began to breathe heavily.

The monster started to walk closer to Naruto. Naruto glared at the monster. "He's coming, what now?" Thinking, Naruto did the only thing he could think of. He made four more shadow clones, each with the same frenzied power that Naruto has. Each had red eyes, and elongated fangs and claws.

Naruto and his clones charged. They all attacked viciously. One by one, they were all destroyed, the giant monster swinging his sword wildly. The monster hit Naruto with its forearm, sending him flying yet again. Naruto het another wall, crashing through bushes and branches. He wiped blood from his nose. "Damn," he growled.

Naruto waited for a while, then dropped a piece of paper to the ground that he had in his backpack. The monster walked slowly towards him, dragging its long blade behind him. "That's it," Naruto said. "Come and get me you jerk!"

The monster lifted its sword high into the air. Naruto jumped over the creature, landing on the other side of the courtyard. A sizzling sound came from the paper as is ignited. Suddenly, it exploded, causing the monster to topple to the ground.

"That was a paper bomb, you son of a bitch!" Naruto yelled triumphantly. He laughed hard, until the smoke cleared, when his smile faded. He saw that the creature was very much alive and also had regained its footing. It still didn't even look hurt. Naruto gritted his teeth in frustration.

The giant monster threw its sword back, preparing for a huge swing. Naruto closed his eyes tight, trying to think of another strategy. Once he opened his eyes, he saw the blade swinging towards him at a blinding speed.

A loud clash was heard, sparks flying everywhere. Looking up, Naruto saw Ichigo standing at his side, blocking the monster's attack with Zangetsu. "Hey," Ichigo said. "Looks like he found you first."

"Yeah," Naruto grumbled. "Well, I was about to beat him!"

The monster withdrew his sword. A loud yell came from behind. Hiyori came crashing down, her blade slashing at the monster's hide. But the blade didn't even scratch the surface of his skin. Hiyori leapt back, to join Ichigo and Naruto.

"This guy's tough," she said.

"Wow," Naruto said, astonished. "You came a long way from trembling when you saw this guy the last time!"

"We actually saw him once again," Ichigo reported. Before Naruto could ask about it, Ichigo said, "But we're going to have to wait for that. First, let's kick this guy's ass!"

Naruto stood up. Ichigo glanced at him. "What happened to you?"

"What?" Naruto asked.

"You're eyes and fangs. That isn't normal, Naruto!"

"And his claws," Hiyori replied.

"And his claws," Ichigo repeated.

"It's because," Naruto began. "I have a demon fox spirit trapped inside of me."

Before Ichigo or Hiyori could react, a large hunk of metal slashed at them. They all managed to dodge swiftly.

"Let's save that for after the fight!" Ichigo yelled.

Naruto and Hiyori nodded. "So," Ichigo announced. "Listen, you," he paused, thinking of what to call it. "You Pyramid Head! Get ready to get your ass kicked!"

"Is that the best you've got?" Hiyori retorted.

"There's no time!" Ichigo replied, jumping over another slash. In the air, Ichigo came crashing down with Zangetsu, right onto Pyramid Head's large metal head. Only sparks emitted, as Ichigo back off.

Hiyori twirled around as she tried to cut his waist, but with the same results as before. She did a back flip to avoid a deadly slash.

Naruto leapt at the monster, spinning in the air and using his momentum to kick with his leg, making contact in the chest. The monster was knocked back a few feet, but kept its balance.

"Damn, we're not getting anywhere!" Naruto said through gritted teeth.

The three of them kept trying different strategies, but no attack would even cut the monster.

Ichigo hacked at Pyramid Head's leg, but it blocked but using its large metal weapon. Hiyori kicked out with her leg, landing a blow on its thigh. The monster shook a bit, and then stood straight. Hiyori's eyes narrowed as she landed.

The monster kept swinging, narrowly missing each of his targets. As Naruto landed to the ground, he made a couple more clones. "Try this now!" he yelled, forming another Rasengan.

"Will that work?" Ichigo yelled.

Naruto charged with two shadow clones, each holding the Rasengan. Surprised, Ichigo asked to himself, "I thought he only needs one clone to do that. Isn't he just wasting energy?"

As Naruto charged, he pushed his hand forward and yelled, "Oodama Rasengan!" The blue sphere rapidly grew larger, a powerful aura all around it. It enveloped Pyramid Head in an extreme blue light. The force of the attack, caused a high wind to erupt, making Ichigo put his arms up to shield his eyes.

"What a serious power! Man, I wouldn't want to be hit by that!"

Hiyori just stared in awe, as the ground shook from the force of the attack. She gazed as the blue light slowly disappeared. The blue sphere pushed Pyramid Head back as it faded.

Naruto's clones disappeared as he wheezed from fatigue. "That was the last of my chakra." His red blood thirsty eyes faded back to a deep blue, as his claws and fangs receded to their original state. Naruto's shoulders slouched. Naruto's eyes grew wide as he saw Pyramid Head stand up, almost as if nothing happened. "No way."

"That can't be possible!" Hiyori stated. She placed her hand over her face, as her eyebrows narrowed in anger. She moved her hand across her face.

"What," Naruto asked. "The hell was that?"

Hiyori looked shocked. "I," she said. "I can't Hollowfy!"

Ichigo's eyes also grew wide. "What? Oh, no, that's bad news!" He did the same motion as Hiyori, but nothing happened. Naruto stared in curiosity.

"Then," Ichigo said. "I don't see any other way, I'll have to risk my Hollow coming out."

"What do you mean?" Hiyori asked.

Ichigo placed both hands on his blade's hilt, as he pointed it towards Pyramid Head. A blue aura surrounded him. The force of his energy caused an already weakened Naruto to fall to one knee. It became hard for Naruto to breathe. "There's no interruption this time!" Ichigo yelled. "I'm going to smash you into pieces you ugly bastard!" His eyes began to glow blue as well, as the blue aura grew. "Bankai!"

A small explosion erupted around the courtyard, smoke billowing all around them. Naruto watched carefully. His eyes were wide open with astonishment. "What did he do?"

The smoke began to clear, revealing a slim figure standing. Once the smoke fully cleared, Ichigo was standing there in a whole new outfit. His Shihakushô was replaced with a long black robe that opened with at the bottom, and looked skin tight. The bottom of the robe was frayed and torn. Ichigo's Zangetsu was replaced with a smaller, black blade. Although it was still as long as his old blade. A black chain was attached to the bottom. Ichigo's robe fluttered in the wind. "Tensa Zangetsu," he said calmly.

As Pyramid Head lifted his sword, a deep gash appeared on his chest. Blood poured out. Suddenly, Ichigo was on the other side of the monster, crouched down.

"What the hell?" Naruto wondered.

"You really couldn't follow that?" Hiyori asked. "Ichigo just cut that thing's chest."

Eyes wide open, Naruto said, "That fast?"

Ichigo stood up, triumphant. "What do you say we begin round two?" His smile gave Naruto hope.

Naruto and Hiyori watched as Ichigo stared down Pyramid Head, preparing for a major fight.

The determination in Ichigo's eyes shone brightly, as he smirked. All was silent, as if the whole world was waiting for the two to start battling.

Pyramid Head seemed to become angry, but it was impossible to determine his true emotions. Ichigo shifted his weight as he lifted Tensa Zangetsu. "Here I go," Ichigo said.

139


	12. Chapter 12: Unleashed

Chapter XII

**Unleashed**

Ichigo glared at Pyramid Head, who stared back at him. They were both waiting for the other to make a move. The intensity of the tension made Naruto choke. Ichigo's robe waved in the wind. They stared each other down, each eager to strike.

With blinding speed, Ichigo sped past Pyramid Head, stopping behind him. Swinging Tensa Zangetsu, Ichigo cut open the creature's back. The monster caught on, however, and began used its long blade to parry Ichigo's attack.

Ichigo was stunned. "What? He blocked it?"

The monster swung with a mighty thrust, but Ichigo used flash step to avoid the attack. Ichigo was now on the other side of the courtyard.

"He's so fast!" Naruto said in awe.

"Of course," Hiyori replied calmly. "He's using his Bankai, after all."

Blinking, Naruto asked, "What's Bankai?"

Hiyori sighed. "It's the final release of a Zanpaku-tô."

Naruto cocked his head in confusion as Ichigo clashed blades with the giant once again. Sparks flew everywhere.

"You know how Ichigo's sword is pretty damn big?" Hiyori asked. Naruto nodded. "Well, that's not normal. Most Zanpaku-tô are similar to an ordinary katana."

"Like Rukia's?" Naruto asked.

"Who?"

"Nevermind."

"Whatever. A Zanpaku-tô can release itself to become more powerful," Hiyori explained as Ichigo used flash step to dodge another deadly blow.

"I know that, another Soul Reaper explained that to me already."

"Well, then you know Ichigo's Zangetsu is always in Shikai state." Naruto nodded again. "This is Bankai, the second form."

Eyes wide, Naruto turned to Ichigo as he cut Pyramid Head's arm, blood spilling out. "He's that powerful?"

"It's not that special," Hiyori retorted. "If we could Hollowfy we'd be way stronger, but something is jamming our abilities."

_Something?_ A voice in Hiyori's head cried out. _That's not very nice!"_

Hiyori grabbed her head in pain. She clenched her teeth. Naruto glared at her with concern.

"What's wrong?" Naruto asked.

"It's nothing," Hiyori replied, shaking her head and focusing her gaze on Ichigo's fight.

Ichigo was fighting fiercely, every hit making contact. He hacked at the monster's body, making plenty of blood come out. Still, the monster would not go down. Ichigo gritted his teeth in frustration.

Pyramid Head lifted his sword high in the air. Ichigo, sensing a tremendous attack, jumped backwards, easily dodging the swing.

Naruto took a step forward. Hiyori grabbed his shoulder, "Where do think you're going?" she asked.

"To fight!" Naruto replied.

"Do you honestly think you could keep up with Ichigo? Just stay out of his way!"

Naruto stared at the ground, frustrated at his own lack of power. "Why?" He said softly. Hiyori looked confused. "Why am I always the one who gets knocked down? No one thinks I can do anything, like I'm not strong enough." Naruto perked up his head, his eyes glowing red once again. "I'm stronger than you think!" He chased after Ichigo, eager to join in the fight.

Seeing Naruto run up to them, Ichigo gasped, "No! Dammit, Naruto! You're out of energy!"

"Don't count me out yet!" Naruto yelled, leaping into the air, crossing his forearms, claws extended. He spun in the air, performing a roundhouse kick in mid air, making contact on Pyramid Head's chest.

The monster was knocked backwards, but easily regained his footing. It began to swing its sword, and Ichigo, noticing the thrust, used flash step to grab Naruto. But he was too late. The mighty blade came hurling around. As Ichigo grabbed Naruto, the blade cut deeply into Ichigo's shoulder, ripping through his ligaments and muscle. Ichigo howled in pain as he dropped Naruto, rolling to the ground. Blood poured from the gash, staining his new clothes.

Naruto got up, noticing Ichigo bleeding, rolling on the floor in pain. He began to sweat, realizing what he had cost Ichigo.

"Shit," Hiyori grunted, drawing her sword. "I guess I have to step in!" She used flash step to move in front of Naruto and Ichigo. "Quick! Do you have any healing items in your bag?"

Naruto remembered the med kit in his pouch. He pulled it out and opened it. "Right here!" he answered.

"Good," Hiyori replied. "Use it on Ichigo!" Pyramid Head began to walk towards the group, slowly dragging his sword behind him.

"It's going to take too long!" Naruto replied. "Pyramid Head will kill us before I could even clean his wound!" He paused. "Oh, man, this is the time where we could really use Sakura!"

"I can stall him," Hiyori replied. The air grew heavy as a pink aura surrounded her. "Just do what you need to!"

Naruto nodded and began to work on Ichigo as fast as possible. Hiyori gritted her teeth, preparing for her fight.

She leapt into the air, slashing at the monster; it brushed off the attack, like it was nothing. He continued to drag his sword, walking closer to Ichigo. "Damn," Hiyori said. She charged, stabbing at the creature as hard as she could.

Pyramid Head turned to face Hiyori, her blade not even scratching the surface of his skin. He grabbed her throat and began to squeeze. She gasped for air, unable to breathe. Her eyes began to roll into the back of her head. She shut her eyes tight. With the last of her strength, Hiyori moved her hand across her face, attempting to Hollowfy, but to no avail. She scratched at Pyramid Head's arm. He lifted other arm and opened his hand. Hiyori stared at him. He reached for her jacket, ripped, and pulled it off, tearing in apart. Pyramid Head glared at her jacket, as if he missed his target. He reached again, trying to rip off something else, when all of a sudden; he looked over to the side, stopping his attack. Hiyori looked as well to see Ichigo standing there.

"Hey," Ichigo said confidently. "What do you think you're doing?" He stared at Hiyori's torn jacket. Then he looked to see her undershirt was slightly ripped as well. He laughed. "I didn't know monsters could be perverts too." He nodded towards Hiyori. "I think he wants to see you naked." He smirked.

Through short gasps, Hiyori replied, "Shut the hell up!"

Ichigo's attitude grew serious once he realized that Hiyori was unable to breathe. He narrowed his eyes and swung his black blade. He struck Pyramid Head's arm, cutting it deeply. It instantly released Hiyori, dropping her to the ground. Ichigo caught her before she hit the grass.

"If I could breathe," Hiyori gasped. "I would kick your ass for touching me."

"You need to Hiyorirelax," Ichigo replied. "I was making sure you didn't hit the ground!" He let her go. She grabbed her neck, gasping for air.

"How in the hell did Naruto heal you that fast?" Hiyori asked.

Ichigo turned slightly; revealing a very bloody shoulder, with a lot of the blood cleaned up, and slightly patched up. Hiyori glanced over to Naruto who was angrily holding some medical tools. "You didn't let him finish, did you?" She asked.

"It was either that or let that freak finish you!" Ichigo snapped.

Hiyori took a look at Ichigo's back. "It's still pretty damn bad. You have to let him finish."

"I didn't know you cared," Ichigo replied, tauntingly.

Growing red, Hiyori snapped, "It's not that, dumbass! I just don't want my student to get killed before I can fully train you!"

"Fine," Ichigo said, raising Tensa Zangetsu, the black blade shining in the limited light of the flash lights. "But how are you going to stall him long enough?"

After a moment of silence, Hiyori replied, "Well, I am a Vizard, you know."

"Yeah, but we can't Hollowfy."

"What are you talking about?" Hiyori asked. "I don't know about you, but I can Hollowfy whenever I want!"

"Don't lie," Ichigo replied. Hiyori was a little shocked. "I saw when that thing was choking you, you tried to do it, but you couldn't."

Hiyori dropped her head, avoiding Ichigo's gaze. She knew he was right. "Well, if you can't get healed in time, we're screwed, so you better hurry up!"

Ichigo nodded and returned to Naruto, who immediately resumed healing him.

Hiyori turned to face Pyramid Head, who was slowly walking towards her. The large metal blade that he was dragging cut up the ground. Giant cockroaches surrounded the monster's feet as he walked. Pyramid Head moved as if they weren't even there.

Hiyori lifted her blade high as she jumped into the air, launching an offensive against the formidable monster. Her blade clashed with his, sparks flying in all directions. She gritted her teeth and spun around, swinging her blade. She connected with his shoulder, making a slight scratch.

Pyramid thrust his arm forward, punching Hiyori in the face. She fell backwards, rolling on the ground. She got onto one knee, nose bleeding. She grew angry as she stood up. "You dickhead! I'm going to kick your ass!" She kicked off the ground with one foot, leaping at Pyramid Head. She kneed his stomach, making no sign of damage. She flipped upside down, kicking his large metal head. Pyramid Head punched again, but Hiyori shift her shoulders, rolling with the punch. As a counter, she used her arm to punch him in the neck. Before she hit the ground she flipped right side up again. As soon as she felt the ground beneath her, she kicked off again, using her sword to slash across his chest vertically. She leapt over the monster, landing behind him.

Hiyori turned to see the damage she made. To her frustration, Pyramid Head was unharmed. Even the slash on his chest was nothing more than a mere scratch. Her eyes flared with rage as she turned to face him. "Well, I like a challenge, but this is a bit much," Hiyori said, chuckling.

Ichigo sat up, eager to fight again. Naruto said, "Wait, almost done!"

"Why is it taking so long?" Ichigo asked.

"Maybe because you nearly lost an arm!" Naruto snapped. "Besides, I've had medical training, but I'm not real good at it."

"Well isn't that reassuring."

"I can do it!"

Hiyori stood there as Pyramid Head walked closer and closer to her. "What now?" she wondered.

Pyramid Head quickly was on top of her and lifted his blade over his head, using momentum to swing in down. Hiyori dodged, back flipping to Ichigo and Naruto. "How's he doing?" she asked.

"I'm good enough," Ichigo said, getting up.

"No!" Naruto yelled, but Ichigo ignored him.

Ichigo lifted Tensa Zangetsu, but felt a sharp stab of pain and dropped the blade. "Dammit!" he said through clenched teeth.

"You can't even hold a sword!" Naruto said.

"Maybe not in this hand," Ichigo replied, picking the sword back up with his other hand. "This'll do just fine!"

Ichigo turned to face Pyramid Head, his eyebrows narrowed, and his eyes full of determination. He charged at the monster, holding Tensa Zangetsu tightly. He clashed with the giant monster, his left arm hanging limply at his side.

The two fought, exchanging blow after blow. Ichigo leapt into the air, pointing his blade downwards. It landed on Pyramid Head's large skull, scraping against the metal, sparks flying everywhere.

"Damn," Hiyori cursed. "Ichigo isn't fighting as well as he should be."

Ichigo landed on the ground and swung his sword, but Pyramid Head parried it. The monster swung his mighty sword as Ichigo, who brought up his blade to his face, protecting him from the blow. The tremendous force knocked Ichigo to the ground. He landed on his wounded shoulder. Pain was sent through his entire body. He howled in pain, but quickly got up, despite the pain he felt. He coughed as he faced the mighty monster. He shut one eye tightly to compensate for the pain.

The monster drew closer and closer. Ichigo gritted his teeth. He then used flash step to move in circles around the giant creature. The monster looked around in all directions, trying to find Ichigo. But the strong willed Soul Reaper moved faster and faster, impossible to even be seen. He moved so fast that it looked like there was ten of him, running around Pyramid Head.

A small cut appeared on Pyramid Head's arm. Blood trickled down the wound. Another cut appeared on his chest. Then more and more. Ichigo kept slashing as he moved.

Naruto watched in shock, seeing Ichigo's amazing feats. He shifted slightly, eager to help in the fight. His eyes glowed a strong red, full of fire.

Hiyori grabbed his shoulder. "You remember the last time, don't you? You'd have to be a real dumbass to try that again."

Naruto grumbled angrily on the ground, clenching his fists in helplessness. He stood up and spoke softly, "I'm tired of being the one who can't help." Hiyori stared at him. "Everyone thinks I can't do anything. Like I'm too weak." Naruto turned to her. "But this time, I can win!"

Hiyori shot him a dirty look. "No, you idiot!" She stood up as well. "They're both at a much higher level than we are!" Hiyori felt a stab of pain in her heart. She just realized that she had become weaker than Ichigo after the world had shifted to its altered state. _He can still use Bankai, but I can't Hollowfy! Dammit!_

Ichigo clashed with the giant mass of muscle and raw power. Their blades sparked as they collided and scraped against each other. Ichigo sidestepped, dodging a fatal blow from Pyramid Head. Spinning around, Ichigo cut the being across the chest. Blood poured out, dripping to the floor. Ichigo wiped sweat from his brow. "Dammit, this guy just won't die! He's even worse than Kenpachi!"

Pyramid Head thrust his forearm forward, slamming it into Ichigo, who was unprepared for the attack. He felt the force like being hit with a brick wall. Flying backwards, Ichigo regained his composure in mid air and minimized the impact. Pain still soared through his body, causing a few bones to crack. He howled in pain, but had to quickly get back up to dodge a giant blade which almost crashed down onto his head.

Ichigo jumped out of the way, and landed a few feet from Pyramid Head. "Damn, I'm getting nowhere fast! What the hell do I do?" Ichigo brought his hand to his face. "I can only think of one thing. I have to try it!"

With a swift motion, Ichigo moved his hand across his face. Nothing changed. "Crap, I still can't Hollowfy!"

Hiyori watched in anger. "Damn, I can't even help! That thing won't die, and Ichigo's too strong for me to match up to!" She smirked. "All right, Naruto, I think we need to help out."

Naruto's face lit up. "Really?" He grinned. "All right, let's do it!" Hiyori and Naruto took off, running towards Ichigo.

Ichigo saw them coming and yelled, "No, don't do it! Stay back!" As he yelled this, a large blade sliced through the air, digging itself deeply into Ichigo's body. Blood poured everywhere, as Ichigo couldn't even muster a scream. He fell to the floor, twitching. His eyes were cold and empty.

Naruto watched in horror. He stopped running and stopped by Ichigo's side. "Hey, Ichigo!" he called out. "Are you dead?"

Hiyori almost chuckled. "That's the most dumbass question I think I've ever heard!"

Naruto clenched his teeth. He shut his eyes tightly. "How can you make a joke about it? Ichigo may be dead!"

Hiyori stared at the bleeding corpse. Ichigo was unmoving. "Ichigo?" she whispered softly. "I didn't think he would actually die."

Tears flowed into Naruto's eyes. "He can't be dead!" He howled into the air, red energy flowing around him. Naruto ran towards Pyramid Head, kunai in one hand, claws outstretched in the other.

"Where did all this energy come from?" Hiyori yelled. "He was completely drained a minute ago!"

Naruto leaped into the air and came crashing down on the monster's head. He jumped off, landing a few feet from him. Turning around, Naruto let out a series of fast, but powerful, punches, hitting directly in the giant's stomach. Pyramid Head couldn't even move to counter Naruto's barrage. Naruto side stepped and made a shadow clone. He prepared a Rasengan. Its chakra was red and raging. Naruto's teeth were bared giving him a blood thirsty expression. With his clone disappearing, Naruto thrust his attack forward, roaring as he did so. The attack pushed Pyramid Head backwards, knocking him into a brick wall close by.

After the monster regained its composure, it stood back up and faced Naruto. Naruto was staring at the creature with such rage that Hiyori thought Naruto might explode. "I'm," Naruto began his voice coarse and intimidating. "Going to fucking kill you!"

Naruto gasped and coughed, grabbing his throat. He began to howl as the red aura grew. Naruto's hair grew more frantic as his claws extended further. He dropped to the ground on all fours. The chakra swirled around his body, beginning to form shapes. It bubbled and popped, making the shape of a tail behind him.

Hiyori watched in amazement, fearful of what might happen next. She took a step forward, but stopped. "What the hell is going on?"

Ichigo coughed, spitting up more blood. Hiyori turned to him, noticing that he was still breathing. "Ichigo!" she yelled, rushing to give him aide. She went to hold up his head, but Ichigo screamed. Hiyori immediately dropped him, making him scream louder.

"Crap, we're out of supplies," Hiyori said.

The force of energy coming from Naruto made high speed winds that blew through Hiyori's long pig tails.

Naruto was growing stronger by the second, as more and more of the aura formed around him. He howled into the air as he glared at Pyramid Head. Naruto's chakra had now fully taken on the shape of a fox. His eyes glowed a fierce red, and his claws dug into the cement sidewalk.

"What," Ichigo breathed heavily. "The hell is that thing?"

"That's Naruto," Hiyori replied.

"Ichigo's eyes opened wide. "What?"

"He transformed."

Ichigo gazed in shock, feeling the full power of Naruto Uzumaki. After a few seconds, Ichigo glanced back at Hiyori. "You've become a lot more caring since we got to this town," he said.

Hiyori looked surprised, and then stood up, her face's expression replaced with irritation. "Well, I figured you've just been cut to shreds with a giant piece of sharp metal. Maybe I shouldn't let you bleed to death!"

Ichigo coughed, and rolled over. "It hurts."

"I'm surprised," Hiyori said. "It usually takes a lot longer for you to go down." She paused as she opened up Ichigo's robe.

Taken aback, Ichigo asked, "What the hell are you doing?"

"I'm going to heal you, you dumbass!" Hiyori began to heal Ichigo with her own spiritual energy. "I can't close the wound, I'm not a healer, but I can give you some of my spirit energy so that you can live," Hiyori explained.

Ichigo put his head down, allowing Hiyori to finish the transaction of spiritual energy.

"I didn't think that something like that could even work."

"Right now, my power is close to yours in quality, because we're both Vizards," Hiyori said. "That and you're about as strong as me while your Bankai is released." _At least, when I'm not Hollowfied, _Hiyori thought.

Naruto stared at Pyramid Head, eyes full of rage and determination. His teeth were bared as he dug his claws further into the ground. Howling, Naruto rushed the giant monster, one hand outstretched for an attack. Naruto's speed was incredible, but Hiyori was easily able to follow the battle with her eyes.

Naruto's flurry of attacks bounced off Pyramid Head like they were nothing. Angry, Naruto tried a different approach, and attacked the monster's chest, creating deep gashes.

Black blood sprayed onto the ground. Pyramid Head staggered backwards, but regained his balance. He thrust his blade at Naruto, who dodged with vast agility.

"He's fast," Hiyori acknowledged. "But Ichigo was much faster. Except Naruto seems to have more strength in his attacks."

Ichigo lay on the ground, finally falling unconscious. Hiyori turned her attention back to Ichigo, noticing his condition. She continued her work of transporting her spiritual energy into him.

Naruto growled at the monster as he lunged, slashing it in the shoulder. More blood sprayed the ground. Pyramid Head staggered backwards yet again, hesitating to swing his sword.

Anticipating the monster's hesitation, Naruto used his speed to counter, moving behind him, and slashing his back.

Pyramid Head went down on one knee. Slowly, he rose back up. He thrust his arms forward, as countless giant cockroaches swarmed Naruto. Fighting desperately, Naruto attacked the little monsters, but they swarmed his legs and arms, pinning him to the ground. Their little teeth penetrated Naruto's skin. They seemed unaffected by Naruto's red hot aura. Feeling pain in every direction, Naruto began to cry out, helpless. He growled, growing more and angrier. His muscles bulged as his strength grew. Just before Naruto was about to give up, a strong wind came. Looking up slightly, Naruto saw Ichigo standing upright and ready for battle.

"Getsuga," he began. Naruto braced for impact. "Tenshô!" A black and red gust of pure energy flew from the tip of Ichigo's blade, blowing away every last cockroach. They disintegrated instantly, squealing as they were blown apart. They were destroyed before a drop of blood could even be spilled.

Ichigo gasped for air as he dropped his shoulders. "What's wrong?" he smirked. "I thought your new power would let you defeat a couple of damn cockroaches!"

Naruto stood up, still standing on all fours. He growled at Ichigo. Ichigo's eyes opened wide. "Hey, what are you doing?"

Naruto then turned around to face Pyramid Head. "I'm going to kill him." He took a step towards the monster.

Ichigo chuckled. "All right. Let's do it." He walked up beside Naruto. Then he dropped to one knee, clutching his side. Blood poured out. "Dammit!" He turned to Hiyori. "I thought you healed me!"

Irritated, Hiyori replied, "I said that I could give you enough energy to live, not to heal you! You reopened your wound, dumbass!"

Ichigo clutched Tensa Zangetsu tightly. "Dammit, I guess you're on your own, Naruto."

Naruto nodded, fully understanding what he must do. "Don't worry, I'll kill him." He snarled angrily, waiting for Pyramid Head to make the first move.

Pyramid Head slowly got up, and began to back away. Shocked, Naruto glared at him. "No way!" The monster turned around and began walking away. Angrily, Naruto shouted, "You can't just leave! I'm not done with you yet!" He charged at the monster, leaping into the air. Roaring, Naruto thrust out one hand, preparing for a full scale assault.

Suddenly, Naruto was knocked backwards in the air. As soon as he was hit, his red aura completely vanished, and he toppled over, rolling onto the grass. He lay there for a second dazed. Pyramid Head opened the door to the school and slipped inside. He was gone.

Naruto regained consciousness and sat up. His eyes were blue again, showing no sign of rage or a killer's intent. His nails were back to normal and he sat there, confused. "What the hell just happened?"

Hiyori walked over to him. "Are you all right?" she asked. "You seem like you got a pretty bad beating."

Naruto nodded, blood dripping from his brow. "How's Ichigo?"

"He's unconscious. I think he may kind of useless to us for a while." Hiyori sat down next to Naruto.

"What do we have for supplies?" Naruto asked.

Hiyori shook her head. Surprised, Naruto exclaimed, "Nothing?" She nodded. "So how are we going to get help for Ichigo?"

Hiyori shook her head and shrugged. "What's wrong with you?" Naruto asked.

"I just gave all of my energy to make sure that Ichigo lives, okay?" Hiyori snapped. "I'm pretty damn tired."

"I was the one who did the fighting!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Ichigo did most of it!" Hiyori replied.

They remained in silence for a minute. Until finally, Hiyori broke it by asking, "So what was that just now?"

"What?"

"You know what! The red spirit energy!"

Naruto took a deep breath. "Well, there once was a really strong monster that attacked my village. It was the Nine Tailed Demon Fox. It killed so many people, but it was finally stopped by the Fourth Hokage. He sealed the fox up, killing himself in the process. The fox was sealed within a baby."

"And that was you?" Hiyori asked.

Naruto nodded. "So that was part of the Fox's power leaking though me." He paused. "But if too much ever comes out, I think the Fox will be released again." Naruto looked at his bleeding hand. "The Fox's chakra is supposed to heal me. But it isn't. Something's really wrong with this town."

Naruto turned away. Ichigo began to bleed through his clothes. Hiyori picked him up and draped him over her shoulder. "We should get going," she said.

"Where are we going?" Naruto asked.

"First thing's first, we need to find help for this dumbass," Hiyori replied, patting Ichigo on the head. Together, Naruto and Hiyori walked inside the school building, going through the door opposite to the one Pyramid Head walked through.

***

Renji Abarai and Kiba Inuzuka were walking down the street, growing very bored. The fog had been replaced with a heavy darkness. It had only been about two hours since they had met up with Naruto.

"Man," Renji groaned. "What the hell is going on here?"

"I have no idea," Kiba replied. "I can't even smell anything."

With a blank stare, Renji replied, "That gets creepier every time you say that."

Kiba's face showed irritation. "Whatever. Even Akamaru can't smell any enemies. But that doesn't mean there aren't any nearby. For some reason we just can't use our powers in here like we can outside this town."

"Yeah, well, we've been up and down this street for hours now. We couldn't find anything on the other street either, so what now?"

"I have no idea. Some roads are completely ripped out of the ground. They're just pits!"

"I know," Renji replied. "Maybe we should try going into a building. Which one did Naruto say that he and Ichigo were going to look at?"

"The school," Kiba answered. "I guess we should try somewhere else." Kiba pulled out a map of Silent Hill.

"I can't believe we found that lying in someone's car!" Renji exclaimed. Kiba nodded as he read the map.

Both of them wore a flashlight on their collars, supplied from Kiba's pouch of supplies.

"There's only one other thing that we could really explore here," Kiba said. "There's a church way down South from here."

No," Renji replied. "I hate churches. Not because I'm against people who believe in that stuff, but because, well, I am a Soul Reaper, so I know what really happens when you die."

"I can see that," Kiba replied. Akamaru barked in agreement. "So where do you want to go?"

Suddenly, a sharp, scraping sound pierced through the air. Looking towards the sky, Renji saw a Bird flying through the air. "Let's decide after we kill this thing!"

It swopped down, looking to take a huge chunk of meat out of Kiba. But Akamaru jumped up and bit the monster's leg. It swung around furiously, throwing the dog off of its leg. Akamaru nearly hit the wall, but Kiba jumped up and grabbed him before he could get hurt.

"I got you, boy," Kiba said.

Renji already had his blade drawn and he was in the air. "Now," he yelled. "Get out of my face!" He brought his Zanpaku-tô down hard on the creature's skull. It slashed through its head, brains and bone splattering the floor.

Renji landed gracefully, as he sheathed his sword. "I guess that settles that. Man, these things are becoming a real nuisance!"

Kiba nodded in agreement as he placed Akamaru on the ground. "All right, so where are we going to go? There's way more monsters out here now that it became night. It's not safe."

Renji agreed as he took the map to read. "Damn, we only have a map for Old Silent Hill. And the only thing here is the Church."

"Well," Kiba began. "There's always the hospital."

Intrigued, "Renji asked, "What hospital?"

"Remember? It's the Ridgeview Medical Clinic. We saw it when we first got into Silent Hill."

"All right, I guess we can try that," Renji replied.

They began to walk down a long street. Their feet pounded against the ground heavily as they walked. Akamaru slept soundly in Kiba's jacket. Although he was so big it looked as though he would fall out any minute.

They turned a corner and continued to walk in the dense darkness that surrounded them. Few sounds could be heard. There was the sound of a wheel turning slowly in the distance. It sounded like a large metal wheel, rusted and slow. The only other sounds were Kiba and Renji's footsteps padding the ground, making the turning wheel quite ominous.

"So," Renji began, breaking the silence. "How do you think the other's are doing?"

Kiba stayed silent for a moment. "I have no idea," he replied. "Naruto was in a bit of trouble the last time we saw him. Which doesn't surprise me, he's a real idiot sometimes."

Renji nodded. "Yeah, Ichigo's like that too. It's actually a wonder that Shikamaru put the two together in a group."

Kiba nodded back in acknowledgement. "Anyway, we have to be getting close to that road."

Slightly confused, Renji asked, "What road?"

Sighing, Kiba explained. "Norman Avenue. It's where the Hospital is."

Chuckling, Renji replied, "Oh, yeah, right."

Kiba stopped for a second and turned around. "Check the map, will you? I need to know where we are."

Renji obeyed, unfolding the piece of paper in his pocket. "It says we're on Bachman Road. All we have to do is keep going north."

Kiba nodded, and they continued walking. After a few minutes, Kiba said, "Man, it's so hard to see with this lack of light!"

Renji agreed. They quickly reached the end of the street and turned a corner, bringing them to a dark, long street. They began to walk down it, recognizing it as Norman Avenue.

As they walked, Kiba's spine shivered, as intense feelings of fear flooded him. Akamaru shivered slightly in his jacket. Renji walked around, completely oblivious.

Noticing Kiba's fearful movements, Renji became aware that something was nearby as well. Eventually, they all stopped, and listened closely into the darkness.

Not a sound could be heard, but still, they listened closely. Akamaru started to growl as gurgling sounds erupted from the darkness. It sounded as though someone was choking. A dark figure emerged, stumbling towards them.

It had very dark skin, and a dark hole in its chest. Once it got closer, it was identified as an Acid.

The monster lumbered towards them, flailing about wildly. Renji and Kiba stood in shock.

"What is that thing?" Renji exclaimed.

"Well," Kiba began. "I didn't question those flying bird things, I won't question this! I'm just going to kill it!"

Kiba raced towards the monster, but it reared back its shoulders and let out a stream of black acid, that drenched Kiba's shoulder, which he used to shield himself.

"What is all this crap?" Kiba yelled. Then a sizzling sound spread throughout his jacket, as Kiba realized what the liquid was. He instantly threw Akamaru out of his jacket, and then threw the jacket off of himself. It fell to the floor, slowly dissolving.

Akamaru growled and barked at the monster, which began to lumber towards the frightened dog.

Kiba raced towards his companion, trying to help. But it was too late. The monster was closer to the dog than Kiba was.

Afraid of his partner getting hurt, Kiba called out, "Akamaru, no!"

Just then, a beam of light flew through the air, cutting the monster on its chest. Blood flew from the open wound, as the monster squealed and ran away, disappearing into the night.

Kiba looked back to see Renji with his palm forward. "What the hell was that?" Kiba asked.

"It's called Kido," Renji explained. "It's like spells that only Soul Reapers can use."

Smiling, Kiba said as he walked towards Akamaru, "Well, I owe you one. Thanks for saving Akamaru."

Renji nodded. "Sure, but let's get out of here. I don't want to be here when that thing comes back." Agreeing, Kiba beckoned the dog to follow him, and they continued their walk. "Guess I'll need to buy a new jacket when we get back."

Renji looked at Kiba, who was now without his jacket. "Wow, your hair is a lot shorter than I thought," he pointed out.

"Yeah, well, a lot of people think the outline of fur on my jacket is my hair."

"Well, you are furry enough," Renji said, laughing.

"What do you mean by that?" Kiba asked, his voice rising.

"I just meant that you're like a dog, so the jacket suited you well, it being all furry and all."

"That's a weird thing to say," Kiba replied.

Flustered, Renji snapped, "No it's not! I was just making an observation!" He folded his arms crossly as they walked.

"Anyway," Kiba began. "What do you think that was back there? It didn't look like anything that we fought before."

"Who knows?" Renji replied sharply.

"Man, it's so dark," Kiba announced.

"Yeah," Renji agreed.

Just then, a strange noise exploded behind them. It sounded like a horrible moaning. Chills were driven all up and down their spines. They turned around to see three more Acids moving towards them, their legs moving in disturbing patterns.

Renji gazed, teeth clenched. Kiba bent his knees, ready to fight. Renji took a step forward. "Come on!" he said, charging. He leapt into the air, landing in front of a monster, slashing it down. It sprawled on the floor, squirming in pain. Then it ran away, still on the ground.

Kiba followed, running towards a second creature. He elbowed it in the face as hard as he could. The last monster let out a sickening moan as it sprayed Renji with a stream of acid. Renji managed to dodge using Flash Step. He reappeared behind the monster, stabbing it. The first monster came back, still squirming on the ground. It latched onto Renji's leg, drawing blood. Renji cursed in pain as he tried to shake the creature off.

Kiba continued his assault on the monster before him. After the creature was dazed and confused, Kiba took a step back, and then drew his kunai. It hung loosely at the end of his arm, barely even having a grip on it. He spun around, slashing the creature in the neck, blood pouring everywhere.

Renji was getting frustrated with this monster on his leg. "Damn you!" He formed his own type of hand sign, palms forward. "Hadō number thirty three! Shakkahō!" A red gleaming ball of energy formed in Renji's palm and shot down, exploding into the creature.

It immediately let go and squirmed away. "Get back here!" Renji yelled. He put the palm of his hand over his blade. Sliding it down along the edge, he yelled, "Roar, Zabimaru!" The blade changed dramatically, becoming much larger and wider. Long, sharp spikes formed along the edge of the blade, like teeth on a hungry snake.

Renji thrust his new blade forward, and it extended. He swung it in the air, then let it come crashing down, like a whip. The blade instantly killed the creature, blood exploding onto the pavement.

Now all that's left was the third monster. It began stumbling towards Kiba, but Renji used his whip like sword to cut it down before it could take another step. Kiba shielded his face from the blood that sprayed everywhere.

With all the monsters dead, Renji's Zabimaru grew white for an instant, returning to its original shape. He sheathed it, sighing.

"What the hell was that?" Kiba said, astonished.

"That was my Shikai state," Renji replied.

"Shikai?"

"Don't you remember? We explained it before we got to Silent Hill. It's the released form of my Zanpaku-tô."

"Right," Kiba stuttered. "Why don't you just do that from the beginning?"

"I'm not a mountain of Spirit Energy like Ichigo!"

They began to walk again, Kiba occasionally staring at Renji's blade, as it lay dormant in its sheath.

The eerie silence was quite disturbing to them both. They walked in complete silence, not even talking to one another. The darkness enveloped them from behind, completely surrounding their backsides in darkness. Yet, they walked on, unsure of the dangers that lay before them on the ominous street.

154


	13. Chapter 13: Dog Fight

Chapter XIII

Renji and Kiba walked down the dark street, glancing from side to side, nervous about any more monsters jumping out at them. They quickly passed a few houses and other buildings that they recognized. Relieved that they were drawing closer to their destination, Renji and Kiba sighed. Along the way, they stumbled across a vicious Bird, which attacked violently. Having gained enough experience at this point, the small group easily dispatched of this predator.

They turned a corner, quickly arriving at a very large building, which loomed over them in darkness. Yet, the top was so dark that they couldn't even see how far it went up. Recognizing this as the hospital, they sat on the steps that led into the building.

"All right," Kiba began. "Let's get to it."

"What are our supplies looking like?" Renji asked.

Kiba took out his pouch and began counting the contents. After a short minute, he reported, "We have that health drink that we found over by that one house and another drink from behind the counter in that weird store. We've got a map to Old Silent Hill, and we've got eight shuriken, five paper bombs and a single kunai."

"Paper bomb?" Renji began. "Is there any secret meaning to that or is it just a paper flat bomb?"

"No, that's it, just exploding paper."

Renji stood up. "All right then, let's get started." He went to push in the door to the hospital, but it wouldn't budge. "What the hell?" He pushed harder, putting all his weight and shoulder into it, but the door refused to move. "Dammit! What the hell is wrong with this thing?"

Kiba put his hands on his hips. "That's just plain weird." He paced back and forth. "I guess we either have to find somewhere new, or find the key to this thing."

Renji lightly tried opening the door. "Yeah, you're right. This lock isn't broken like all those other houses, it's just locked."

"Who would've guessed," Kiba began. "A lock that's locked."

"Watch it," Renji warned through clenched teeth. He stepped down from the stairs and walked beside Kiba. Akamaru walked cautiously next to them.

"Wait what's that?" Kiba asked.

Curious, Renji followed Kiba up the stairs. Kiba glanced at the door to the hospital. There were strange carvings dug deeply into the side of the door. They looked like they were carved with a scalpel.

"What is that?" Renji asked.

"It's a message. Let me see," Kiba replied. He then read the message. "Locked are the doors to the healing chambers. Locked are the hearts to those who do not have the key. With the key of burning passion, the doors can be opened."

"So," Renji started, taking in the message. "We need to find some kind of key?"

"I guess so," Kiba replied.

"Where do we even start looking?" Renji wondered.

"Well, I guess we just need to find a building that we can walk into," Kiba suggested.

They started walking down a random street and trying to unlock every door.

After many attempts, Renji became quite frustrated, as all the doors still wouldn't budge. Kiba stayed calmer, but was also irritated. The darkness obscured the street, making it hard to see the end.

They tried every door on the entire street, when they finally gave up and returned to the center of the road. "Dammit!" Renji yelled. "This is so damn annoying!"

Kiba turned his head and nodded. "Yeah, but we can't give up. Without that key, we're just going to be sitting outside in this darkness." Chills streamed down his spine. "That isn't something I plan on doing." He closed his eyes for an instant. "I wonder how Rukia and Sakura are doing. I hope they can handle themselves."

"I don't know Sakura nearly as well as you do," Renji said. "But I know that Rukia can handle herself well enough."

"Can she do what you do?"

Confused, Renji asked, "What do you mean?"

"When your sword changed like that."

"She can," Renji replied. "But every Soul Reaper's blade is different. My Zabimaru changes into what you saw earlier. Ichigo's Zangetsu can concentrate his spirit energy and fire it in high concentrations. And Rukia's Sodenoshirayuki can freeze things."

"Freeze things?" Kiba said. "Is that it?"

Snickering, Renji replied, "Trust me, it may not sound like much, but her Zanpaku-tô is one of the most dangerous. Imagine her being behind you, and all of a sudden, you're covered in ice, and you can't breathe. Then your whole body shatters into millions of shards, and then you die."

Kiba gulped. "Okay, that sounds a little better than 'it freezes things'." He moved to the other side of Renji. "We should get going, let's try another street."

"Fine," Renji agreed, and they were off.

They walked up the street until they were at the top. They turned a corner and Akamaru stopped short.

"What is it, boy?" Kiba asked.

"Probably nothing," Renji said. He noticed that Kiba's face had changed from concern to fear and suspense.

Renji snapped his attention to the area that both Akamaru and Kiba were looking. He saw a dark shape engulfing another shape. It looked as though there were pools of blood everywhere. Loud, sickening crunching sounds etched themselves into Kiba and Renji's ears.

Renji took a step forward, and the shape seemed to turn towards them. It growled hungrily as it drew closer to them. Renji stood there, frozen, as the creature lunged towards him. Renji stood helpless.

Before the creature could get to Renji, Akamaru counter lunged and smashed into the creature. They both toppled to the floor, rolling around. Loud growls and snaps emerged into the air.

Kiba immediately snapped out of his fear and chased after his comrade. Renji did the same, leaping into the air, unsheathing Zabimaru. He landed, stabbing into the creature's belly. It rolled out of the way, escaping with a mere cut.

It stood up, growling angrily. Akamaru growled back, but Kiba scooped up the small dog before it could do anything reckless again.

"These things are such a pain in the ass!" Renji growled.

The Dog attacked again, leaping for Kiba's face. Kiba was unable to defend himself as both of his hands were tied up, holding Akamaru.

Renji used Flash Step to appear in front of Kiba, being able to defend him with a single, swift strike with his blade. The Dog was cut in half, blood exploding onto the ground and walls on nearby buildings.

Kiba put Akamaru down and turned to face Renji. "Sorry," he said, hanging his head.

"For what? Renji asked, sheathing his sword.

"I didn't seem to be able to do much."

"You were able to get Akamaru out of there safely," Renji replied. "I'd say that's a hell of a something."

Feeling a little better, Kiba nodded and the group continued their travels. Walking down pitch dark roads for what seemed like hours, the group fended off any Dogs that showed up, also dealing with the irritating Birds. They walked aimlessly until they came to a particular street that seemed to excrete an ominous feeling that shook the very core of their beings.

They stood at the intersection of the street, staring down the dark road. Renji shook his head. "You feel it too, huh?"

Kiba nodded. "But it's only another street. It's fine, let's go."

Reluctantly, Renji agreed, and the three began to walk down the dark street. They passed a few houses and stores, and eventually came across an even darker alley. It seemed as they stood at the mouth of this alley, their ominous feeling reached its peak.

They gulped and stood there for a moment. "What's wrong?" Renji asked. His hand started to shake.

"Can't you feel that?" Kiba asked.

Renji sighed, not wanting to show his own weakness. "No. It's an alley, so what? Let's go." They crept down the alley, the entrance quickly becoming engulfed in darkness. They crept silently, not wanting to stir any lurking monsters.

A loud bang erupted behind them, like glass shattering. They turned around, looking for a monster, but there was nothing there. Sweat dropped from Renji's nose. He was trying to hold it in, but his fear was beginning to grow.

Yet, seeing turning back as an impossible choice, they pressed on, walking further down the alley. The alley was damp and dark, with the sounds of dripping water all around them. Garbage cans lined the sides every few feet.

As Kiba walked by, his flashlight caused something to illuminate, catching his eye. Bending down, Kiba reached for something behind a garbage can.

"What the hell are you doing?" Renji asked.

"There's something here," Kiba replied. He pulled a small bottle out from behind the can. Holding it up to his flashlight, he exclaimed excitedly, "It's another health drink!"

Smiling, Renji replied, "All right! We needed that!"

So," Kiba began. "How are you? Do you think you need one of these?" He held up the health drink.

Renji shook his head. "I'll be fine. Let's keep going, this alley is freaking me out."

Kiba whole heartedly agreed, and they continued walking. After a few more feet a loud screeching sound echoed in the alley. Turning around, the group still saw no one.

"It's not like these monsters to sneak up on us," Kiba acknowledged. "Why are they doing this?"

"Maybe it's not monsters," Renji suggested. "It could just be weird sounds."

"Maybe," Kiba replied with a lot of doubt in his voice.

They walked only a short distance further when they came across a brick wall. The wall was covered in dark red blood. It seemed dry and flakey. A rotting body lay beside them.

Kiba covered his nose instantly. "I may not be able to smell really well in this town," he began. "But I can still smell that!" He pointed to the body.

"It looks human," Renji noticed.

His voice growing with concern, Kiba asked, "Is it anyone we know?"

Renji shook his head. "Definitely not. The blood looks at least three weeks old. I can't be exact, but it's a lot older than however long we've been here."

"Yeah, we haven't been here for too long," Kiba said. "But it feels like we've been in this damn town for days."

"Yeah, it does."

Renji noticed something behind the body. "What's this?" It was a shining lighter that glistened in the light of their flashlights. He picked it up and put it in his pocket. "This can be useful if we ever run out of batteries." Observing the lighter, it had a heart scratched into it. However, Renji ignored it.

Kiba agreed and they turned around and continued to walk out of the alley. They quickly left the dark alleyway and turned a corner and continued to walk.

"So what now?" Kiba asked.

"I guess we just keep looking for that key. I don't see any other way."

They walked down the street, killing the couple Dogs that stood in their way. They arrived at a broken looking house with the windows shattered and door broken down. The house had an aura of despair and gloom around it, as if it had been abandoned for years. Still, it being the only open house on the street, they walked up the wooden and steps and passed through the frame where the door used to be.

"Damn," Renji said, looking around the house. "It looks like my old home back in the Rukon district."

Kiba had no reaction to Renji's comment. He walked past him, and gazed at the decaying shelves that rested against the far wall. No light shone into the house. It was shrouded in complete darkness. The couch was rotting and the carpet smelt of mildew.

Renji walked around, taking in the scenery. Akamaru stayed beside Kiba, keeping close and shaking slightly.

Kiba picked up a cracked vase that was lying carelessly on the floor. He peered inside but found nothing, so he put it on one of the stable shelves.

A crash echoed throughout the house, causing the small group to perk up and stare into the darkness.

"What the hell was that?" Renji wondered aloud.

Kiba shook his head, unknowing. "Let's find out though," he suggested.

Renji reluctantly agreed, and together, they walked down the hallway, their only source of light being the thin ray of light that illuminated from their flashlights.

A doorway appeared on their right side, leading to a kitchen. Kiba stepped inside, followed by Akamaru and Renji. He looked around and saw a pot that had fallen to the ground. Ironically, the kitchen was in a much neater condition than the living room, minus the stray pot now on the floor.

Kiba picked it up, and a blackish brown shape scurried from underneath. It looked like an oversized cockroach. Akamaru pounced, crushing the creature underneath his paws. A white ooze flooded the roach's body, covering the dog's paws. Akamaru whined in disgust.

"Good boy," Kiba laughed as the dog tried to wipe his paws on the wooden floor.

Renji grabbed the handle on the fridge and Kiba gave him a concerned look. "Should you really open that?" Kiba asked.

"Why not?"

Kiba shrugged as Renji opened the fridge. They expected a rush of cool air, but none came out. Instead, it was like looking into a black hole, with nothing in the darkness. Renji closed the fridge.

"What's wrong?"

Renji sighed, "If you want to stick your hand into a dark box without knowing what's in there, be my guest, but I'm going to try and stay alive."

Kiba shrugged in slight agreeance.

"Well," Renji began. "What do we do now? We kind of hit a dead end here, looking for this key."

"Yeah," Kiba agreed. "I've got no idea, except that we should just keep looking places."

Unsatisfied, Renji agreed, and they made their way out of the house. They walked down the steps; now back on the dark street.

They stared helplessly down the road, unsure of what their next course of action should be. They began walking aimlessly in a random direction, they darkness surrounding them, constricting them, and making it hard to focus on the task ahead.

They passed a few houses before they reached a long alleyway, dark like the rest of the town. Renji peered inside, but Kiba continued to walk. Noticing that Renji had stopped, he did the same. "What's up?" he asked.

"Nothing, really," Renji replied. "I just think that we might want to check this out."

"Why?"

"Because I think we should, is all." Renji contorted his face in anticipation. "Just an instinct, I guess."

Kiba shrugged. "Well, I suppose if that's what you want to do, then I might as well follow you."

Akamaru barked in uneasiness. Kiba kneeled down to the shaking dog. "It's okay, boy, I'll protect you."

"What's wrong with him?" Renji asked.

Kiba turned his gaze to Renji. "Isn't it obvious?" he asked. "This town isn't exactly normal. I'd imagine the constant monsters running around might freak him out a little bit."

Renji nodded. "Yeah, I guess you're right." He paused briefly. "I guess I'm just used to monsters. I mean, Hollows are kind of like that. Soulless, evil, you know."

Kiba nodded. "Yeah, I guess so. I've never seen a Hollow, so I wouldn't have any idea what you're talking about."

Renji remained silent. He began to walk down the impossibly dark alleyway. "Are you coming?" he asked.

Kiba rushed to Renji's side, followed by Akamaru.

They walked on, stepping into the surrounding darkness. They heard nothing but their own footsteps. As they descended deeper into the alley, they could hear the faint drips of water coming from pipes overhead.

"So," Kiba began as they walked. "What do you think caused this town to go from light to dark so suddenly?"

Renji shook his head. "No idea. I've never heard of anything like this before. This whole town is just so damn," he paused again. "Messed up. "I can't think of anything else to say to describe it."

"It sure is different than the Leaf Village."

"Just a bit," Renji replied.

They came to a large brick wall that blocked their path. "It's a dead end," Renji stated.

"Really?" Kiba asked. "I guess I couldn't gather that from the giant brick wall in our way, so thanks for saying that."

Renji gave Kiba a blank stare. "Your voice is just _dripping _with sarcasm!"

Kiba ignored Renji and placed his hand on the wall in front of them. "I guess it's better to have searched this place than be wondering what was in here."

"True," Renji agreed.

Akamaru started barking gleefully. Kiba looked down to see that the gray colored dog had a shiny object underneath his paws. "What's that, boy?" Kiba snatched the object from Akamaru, who had a proud gleam in his eye. Kiba's face lit up as he identified the object. He turned to Renji. "It's another health drink," he said.

Renji smirked. "Good, we'll need them."

Kiba pocketed the item and patted Akamaru on the head. "Nice one, Akamaru."

They dog barked happily, and the small group began walking back to the street. Once they were out of the alley, they began to walk down the road once again.

"Where are we headed?" Kiba asked.

"I think we should go back to the hospital," Renji suggested.

"Confused, Kiba asked, "Why is that?"

"Because we have nothing else to do. Maybe they key was dropped near the building," Renji explained. "I mean, why the hell would it be all the way out here anyway?"

Kiba shrugged, and together, they began walking back towards the hospital.

They were walking for roughly ten minutes when Akamaru stopped and began to bark at the darkness. "What is it, boy?" Kiba asked the frenzied dog.

A loud crash echoed throughout the street, and Renji stared into the distance. A garbage can rolled into the street, littering the pavement with wrappers and rotten smelling pieces of trash.

They looked around, trying to find the source of the commotion, but to no avail. They heard scraping sounds near them, and when Renji looked, he saw a black figure, clinging itself to the wall in a nearby alley. It moaned like a wounded animal, its claws scratching the brick. Renji stared in horror, fear welling up within him. He tried to push the useless emotion aside, but he could not help developing a cold sweat.

The figure stared at him, moaning, with deep yellow eyes. It hissed and scurried off down the alley.

Kiba, noticing Renji's fearful expression, asked, "What in the heck was that?" Chills ran down his spine.

"I really don't know," Renji replied. "Let's just get the hell out of here."

Kiba instantly agreed, and they resumed walking. They passed a rusty old gate, locked tightly with chains. They letter above read 'Rosewater Park'. "Hey," Kiba said. Renji turned to face him. "Isn't this where Uryû, Shikamaru, and Neji were supposed to go?"

"I think," Renji replied.

"Maybe we should look for them?"

"Yeah, why not?" Renji replied.

Renji pulled at the gates, but they were stuck tight. He pulled harder, but they still wouldn't open. "They're not in there," Renji said.

"What makes you say that?" Kiba asked.

"If they were in there, then they would have opened the gates already. But if they're locked, then they obviously couldn't get the gates open either."

Kiba took in the information and nodded. "I guess you're right. Okay, well, then let's keep going."

They walked along the dark road, their feet pounding against the road, making loud noises. Kiba looked around, afraid that their footsteps might attract some unfriendly company.

They arrived back at the hospital quite quickly, to find that there were two new Dogs guarding it. "I really don't want to waste any more time here," Renji said, unsheathing his sword.

Kiba began to draw his kunai, but Renji placed his hand on Kiba's. "Don't," Renji ordered.

Shocked, Kiba asked, "But why?"

Pulling his sword up to his face, Renji replied, "Because I'll take them out in three seconds!" He whipped his blade back, yelling as a deep red aura gathered around him, "Roar, Zabimaru!" The blade changed back into the long, thorn edged blade. It extended and acted as a whip, slicing through the first Dog's shoulder, each thorn passing through and ripping the monster to pieces. "One!" Renji yelled, counting the seconds. Zabimaru swerved around, coming for another attack. The Dog nimbly jumped out of the way. "Two!" Zabimaru reflected off the sidewalk and ricocheted towards the second Dog, still in the air. The blade punched the Dog in the face, causing it to recoil in mid air, its back now face down. The whip like blade continued its path, dissecting the monster's stomach. Dark blood poured out of the animal, spraying the world below. Its dead carcass dropped to the ground in a massive heap. The blade returned to its original position in Renji's hand as he grinned. "Three!"

Kiba glared, amazed. "Man, that's really cool! Are all swords like that?" He was staring at Renji's Zanpaku-tô.

"No," Renji answered, his sword resealing itself. He sheathed it. "The power of one's Zanpaku-tô depends on the user. That is just the shape of my power."

Kiba stared in awe as the now dead Dogs continued to bleed all over the floor.

"Let's get this door open now," Renji said, referring to the hospital. Together, they walked up the steps and once again tried to open the door, but it still remained blocked.

"Wait," Kiba said. "What's all this stuff?"

There was a dark object sprayed all over the door, but it was too dark to see. Kiba positioned his flashlight to see the substance more clearly. When the light shone on it, the object was revealed to be a vine, stretched all over the door and its hinges.

"Why didn't we notice this before?" Renji growled angrily.

"Probably because we were too busy reading that inscription next to the door," Kiba replied.

"Yeah, I guess."

Renji stared at the blocking vine for a minute, then at the inscription. "Wait," he said. He pulled out the lighter that was in his pocket. "Look!" He showed it to Kiba.

"What about it?" Kiba asked.

"It has a heart on it!"

"So?"

Annoyed, Renji explained, "Locked are the hearts to those who do not have the key!"

Confused, Kiba asked, "What's that?"

Irritated, Renji answered, "That was part of the inscription, Kiba!" He held up the lighter. "It says we can only open the door with the key of burning passion! This lighter has a heart scratched into it!"

"You're not making any sense, Renji."

"The lighter is they key! We weren't supposed to find an actual key!" Renji was getting more and more excited.

"What?" Kiba asked.

Renji ignored him. "Just watch. He lit the lighter and held it to the vine. It quickly caught fire, burning the plant down, leaving the door plain. The fire quickly died out as the vine was burnt to a crisp.

"Great," Kiba said. "You cleaned up the place. Now what?"

Renji didn't answer. Instead, he pressed against the door. "We kept trying to push the door in. But it doesn't open that way. It's pulls out." He pulled the door, and it opened with a click. "The vines were blocking the door."

"So," Kiba began. "Why couldn't we just cut the vines?"

Renji shook his head. "I don't know for sure, but we couldn't smash the windows ourselves either. Our own powers seem pretty useless here. There's something about this town that is making our powers ineffective."

Kiba sniffed the air. "Yeah, I guess you're right. For some reason I can't smell anything."

Renji nodded. "So we finally got this door open, why are we just standing here talking, let's go in already!"

Kiba agreed, and they walked through the door into a long, dark hallway.

The inside was unlit and had a horrid musty smell to it. In front of them was a door, and a hallway that was perpendicular to them. At the end of the hallway on both sides of them was another door, making three in total. Their flashlights barely were able to illuminate the dark passage in front of them. Water seemed to drip in the distance, creating an eerie feeling in the pit of their stomachs. Akamaru growled slightly.

Renji took a step forward. He glanced around at his surroundings. "I guess we should just start looking."

"I guess," Kiba agreed. "What should we be looking for?"

Renji shrugged. "Anything."

"Fair enough."

They walked up to the door that was right in front of them. Renji rapped the wooden door with his knuckles. Then he reached for the knob and turned it. The door wouldn't budge. Sighing, Renji said, "Well, what else is new?"

Kiba chuckled. "I guess we should try something else."

They walked down the hall, leaving the locked door far behind. They approached another door nearby, and this one opened with a small click.

Inside was a metal table that had wheels. On the far wall was a shelf with various medical supplies stacked upon them. There were other medical devices and machines around them in the room. Above the counter was a sign that read 'Pharmacy'.

Renji walked up to the counter. Leaning over he reached for a bottle.

Interested, Kiba asked, "What are you doing?""

Through clenched teeth, Renji replied, "I'm trying to see what this stuff is." He outstretched his arm as far as it could go, but the bottles on the other side were still just out of reach.

Suddenly, a black figure leapt up and latched onto Renji's outstretched arm, biting down hard.

Renji howled in pain as blood trickled from his forearm. Kiba rushed to his aide, knocking the creature off of Renji.

A glimmer of light shone from the fleeing creature. It scurried across the floor, but Akamaru head butted it, knocking it to the floor. Kiba ran up and stepped on the creature's stomach, knocking the wind out of it.

With his flash light, Kiba saw that the creature was a Knife, and the glimmer of light that shone from it earlier was its weapon, now stained with Renji's blood.

Kiba continued to kick the creature, making sure it would not get back up. He finally kicked it as hard as he could in the head, the force snapping its little neck.

Renji wandered to Kiba's side, holding his arm as blood flowed from his wound.

"It's okay," Kiba began. "You can repay me later for saving your life."

"Watch it," Renji scowled. "It caught me by surprise; I could have easily taken the damn thing out."

Kiba nodded, but didn't really listen, which made Renji even angrier. Kiba walked up to the counter and leapt over it. He grabbed a few bottles and started to read the labels. "There's some disinfectant here," he reported. "Or would you rather use a health drink?"

Renji shook his head. "Those health drinks are really important to us. We can't use them on something like this!"

"It is a deep cut though," Kiba replied.

Renji shrugged. "Just toss me the disinfectant," he ordered. Kiba did so. Renji applied the medicine, grimacing in the pain, and then put a band aide across the cut.

Kiba wandered around the room as Renji did this, looking at the medical posters and supplies that lay around.

When Renji was finished, Kiba returned to him, and the three of them left the room.

"You find anything else in there?" Renji asked as he shut the door. Kiba shook his head. "Oh well."

They traveled across the hallway to get to the door on the other side. Inside that room was nothing more than a couple Knives that were easily dispatched of and some notes on a few different patients that resided in the hospital. Still finding nothing of particular interest, they left that room and continued walking down the hallway.

Once they reached the end of the hallway, they noticed that another hallway branched off of this one, with a flight of stairs and an elevator beside it. The elevator's silver doors were rusted and rotting, and didn't look trustworthy whatsoever.

They passed it, moving towards the center of the room. Glass shattered somewhere, causing Renji and Kiba to look around them. They saw a pair of yellow, pulsing eyes glaring at them through the darkness of the other hallway. It growled hungrily, as it stepped out of the shadows, revealing itself as a skinny Dog.

A second pair of eyes emerged, joining the Dog as they faced down Kiba, Renji, and Akamaru.

The two Dogs began to circle their pretty, licking their bloodstained lips. Their eyes were locked on them, unmoving, and unnatural.

Renji drew Zabimaru, battle ready. Kiba made a nice stance, all his weight on his back leg, preparing for the fight ahead. Akamaru took a step back, letting the others fight.

One Dog leapt at Kiba, who threw a nice kick slicing through the air, colliding with the monster's face, sending it sprawling to the floor. The other Dog ran at Renji, who sliced with his sharp blade.

The Dog swerved to the right, dodging the blade, and head butted Renji in the side. He coughed as he threw the Dog away with his free hand.

The animal retaliated, biting Renji's hand ferociously. Renji screamed as he kicked the Dog off.

Kiba watched Renji's fight until his own enemy had returned to the battlefield. Kiba's attention immediately snapped back to his own fight. The Dog lunged again, but Kiba managed to counter with a hard punch to the snout. Blood trickled from the Dog's nose.

Kiba turned to Renji, who was beginning to run out of breath. "Hey," he began. Renji turned to face Kiba. "What do you say you let me handle this, okay?"

Renji stared in shock. "Are you kidding? I know you can handle it, but you'll use much less energy if you're fighting with me."

"That wound caused you to hesitate," Kiba said. Renji stared at his arm, blood beginning to bleed through the white band aide.

"I've had worse!"

"I know," Kiba replied. "But it's still causing you to hesitate."

As he said this, the two Dogs attacked again, but Kiba and Renji managed to fend them off.

"I can end this quickly," Kiba said. "So you don't have to waste your energy on your Shikai."

Renji stared at Kiba for a minute, and then nodded, agreeing. He took a step back, but did not lower his sword.

Kiba yelled, "Come on, Akamaru!"

Renji's eyes opened wide. "You can't be serious?"

"Just watch," Kiba smirked. He formed a hand sign. "Ninja Art: Beast Mimicry!" Akamaru exploded in a puff of smoke. When it cleared, a second Kiba had appeared.

Renji gaped in awe. "No way!" He said. "Those Jutsu are so damn impressive!"

"Let's get them, boy!" said one of the Kibas. The second Kiba growled in anticipated, baring his sharp canine teeth.

They charged at the two Dogs, which were unsure how to react. They countered as best as they could.

One Kiba slashed at a Dog, which narrowly dodged, earning a small scratch on its hide. It bit back, but the Kiba jumped backwards. Using all of his strength, he pushed off of his back leg and slammed his shoulder into the Dog, sending the monster backwards, into the wall, knocking over a broom.

The second Dog slashed at the other Kiba, which leaned backwards to avoid the blow. He smirked, his teeth bared. "Come on, is that all you got?" Kiba taunted.

The Dog angrily bit at him, but he easily dodged. "You guys seemed so much harder when there were two of you!"

Then he used all his momentum to perform a powerful roundhouse kick that launched into the Dog's face.

The Dogs regrouped and stood side by side, growling angrily at the two Kibas that were before them.

The Kibas, resting on all fours, grinned wildly at their enemies, triumphant.

Each twitched slightly, waiting for the other to attack. Finally, the two Dog's attacked as one, fighting as a team, catching Kiba off guard.

One Dog slammed into a Kiba, knocking him onto the ground. The second Dog launched at the other Kiba, who yelled back to his partner, "Akamaru!"

Kiba noticed the Dog just in time, as he nimbly dodged the surely fatal attack, and countered with a hard punch to the stomach. The Dog spit out blood and saliva as Kiba dug his hand deeper and deeper into the animal's skin.

Kiba threw the Dog off, and rushed to Akamaru's side, punting the Dog that lay on top of him, snapping at his exposed throat.

Kiba and Akamaru stood together, fending of attack after attack made by the ever hungry Dogs.

Kiba leapt at one of them, but the enemy countered by leaping at Kiba. They clashed in the air and continued to exchange blows, even after they landed on the ground.

Akamaru fought bravely with his enemy as well, each seemed to be equal in their advantages.

The monsters were fighting smarter, more as a team, which threw Kiba and Akamaru off guard. However, they began to fight as one as well, equalizing the fight between them. It was no longer a two on two battle, but a one on one, each team fighting as a single individual.

Renji watched helplessly as they fought, knowing full well that they were in such a heat of battle, that even if he was at full strength, there would be no opening for him to jump in and help.

The Dogs knocked Kiba and Akamaru to the ground, causing Akamaru to return to his original shape in another puff of smoke. Renji's eyes snapped to attention.

Kiba growled in frustration. He turned to his faithful companion. "Come on, Akamaru! We can do this!"

The giant dog barked in agreement. However, the other Dogs snarled hungrily.

Kiba stood up, smirking. Renji began to wonder what their strategy would be. "All right, boy, this time, let's show Renji our power!"

Akamaru stood up as well, shaking off the gravel that entangled his grey fur.

Kiba brought his hands up to his chest, forming a T with his middle and index fingers. Kiba announced proudly "Ninja Art: Beast Mimicry!"

With a puff of smoke, Akamaru changed form. Renji gaped in wonder. _What the hell are they doing?_ He thought.

In placement of Akamaru stood another Kiba, snarling and baring his teeth. Renji's jaw dropped.

Kiba chuckled as he crouched down, much like a tiger, preparing to pounce. The second Kiba did the same. "Ready Akamaru?" Kiba asked.

"That's Akamaru?" Renji said to himself.

Akamaru didn't break his piercing gaze with the two Dogs, which were drawing nearer, slowly, sizing up their new opponent.

"Doesn't matter what you do," Kiba yelled. "We've been being kept here way too long by you jerks!" He braced himself. "Fang over fang!"

A whirlwind spun from the two beings, as they were engulfed, and became the wind. The spun so rapidly, Renji could barely follow it with his eyes. Suddenly, the spiraling whirlwinds took off from the ground, flew into the air, and came crashing down upon the two Dogs, crushing their bones and bodies.

They were knocked back, off their paws, and slammed into a wall, causing a bulletin board to fall to the ground.

The Dogs were dead, bleeding all over the place, but Kiba held his head and clenched his teeth.

Renji rushed over to him. "What's wrong? Does that Jutsu take a lot of energy?"

"No," Kiba replied. "I hit my head on the damn ceiling!"

Akamaru began to lick Kiba's head. Kiba returned the act of care by patting him. He stood up to face Renji. "But how's your wounds?"

Renji averted his eyes, making a nonchalant expression. "Eh, it's fine. Don't worry about me. Let's just explore this place and see if we can find some things out."

"I don't know what we're going to find here," Kiba complained.

"Me either, but last time we heard from anyone else," Renji replied. "Naruto and Ichigo were heading to the school."

"Oh yeah, what was that about?"

Renji shrugged. "Beats me."

"Well," Kiba started. But he was interrupted by a low, deep grown, that seemed to emerge from the darkness beyond the hallways. The hairs stood up on the backs of their necks. "Um, let's start this search, and get the hell out of here."

"Don't worry," Renji smirked. "If anything strong comes by, I still have my Bankai."

Confused, Kiba asked, "Your what now?"

"Nevermind."

They turned to face the darkness, and continued down the path, flashlights illuminating just a little bit of their path.


	14. Notice For All Readers

I am going to be rewriting this story so anyone who wants to read the revised version, please visit my profile, or you can see it on my deviantart account: sarugaki339(dot)deviantart(dot)com

Why am I rewriting this? Because when I first started this story, it was my sophomore year in high school, and it has been almost 3 years since then. My writing skills have improved greatly since then, and I know I can make a much better story now. So please add me as a favorite author if you'd like to see the revised and better version. Or visit my deviantART account, where you can also see all of my fan art I draw. Thank you all for reading and enjoying my story, and I hope you all like the new version much better!


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